Fortnightly - Long Island Power Authorityhttp://www.fortnightly.com/tags/long-island-power-authority
enPeople (January 2014)http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2014/01/people-january-2014
<div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - January 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-PEO%20Darrel%20Anderson.jpg" width="836" height="1142" alt="Darrel Anderson" title="Darrel Anderson" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-PEO%20J%20LaMont%20Keen.jpg" width="1416" height="1891" alt="J. LaMont Keen" title="J. LaMont Keen" /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-PEO%20William%20Kennard.jpg" width="456" height="600" alt="William E. Kennard" title="William E. Kennard" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-PEO%20Kurt%20Darrow.jpg" width="2826" height="3414" alt="Kurt L. Darrow" title="Kurt L. Darrow" /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1401-PEO%20James%20Gallagher.jpg" width="411" height="464" alt="James T. Gallagher" title="James T. Gallagher" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span class="boldred">New Opportunities:</span><b> </b><b>IDACORP</b> and<b> </b><b>Idaho Power</b> elected <b>Darrel Anderson</b> as president and CEO of IDACORP and CEO of Idaho Power, succeeding <b>J. LaMont Keen</b> who will step down from his roles at IDACORP on April 30, 2014, and at Idaho Power on Dec. 31, 2013. Previously Anderson was IDACORP executive v.p. of administrative services and CFO and Idaho Power president and CFO. Additionally <b>Steven R. Keen</b> was promoted to senior v.p., CFO, and treasurer of Idaho Power effective Jan. 1, 2014 and of IDACORP effective May 1, 2014, from his current roles as v.p. of finance and treasurer of IDACORP and senior v.p. of finance and treasurer of Idaho Power. </p>
<p><b>DTE Energy</b> appointed internal senior executives to new positions: <b>Steve Kurmas, </b>previously<b> </b>president and COO of DTE Electric,<b> </b>was named DTE Energy president and COO; <b>Jerry Norcia</b>, previously president and COO for DTE Gas, was named president and COO of DTE Electric and Gas and Storage pipelines; <b>Dave Meador</b>, previously executive v.p. and CFO, was named DTE Energy vice chairman and chief administrative officer; <b>Peter Oleksiak</b>, previously senior v.p. of finance, was named DTE Energy senior v.p. and CFO; and <b>Mark Stiers</b>, previously v.p. of gas sales and supply, was named president and COO of DTE Gas. </p>
<p><b>Southern Company</b> named <b>Paula M. Marino</b> senior v.p. of engineering and construction services. Previously Marino was v.p. of engineering for subsidiary Southern Nuclear.</p>
<p><b>Public Service Enterprise Group</b> (PSEG) appointed <b>David M. Daly</b> as president and COO of the company’s new subsidiary that will manage the operation of the Long Island Power Authority’s electric system. Previously, Daly was v.p. of PSE&amp;G.</p>
<p><b>Dominion</b><b> </b>promoted <b>Brian C. Sheppard</b>, managing director of pipeline operations for Dominion Transmission, to v.p. of pipeline operations upon the retirement of <b>Jeffrey L. Barger</b>, effective April 1, 2014. </p>
<p><b>Montana-Dakota Utilities</b> appointed <b>Jay Skabo</b> as v.p. of electric supply and <b>Nicole Kivisto</b> as v.p. of operations. Previously Skabo was v.p. of operations for the company and Kivisto was v.p., controller, and chief accounting officer for MDU Resources Group.</p>
<p><b>Entergy Nuclear</b> named <b>Donna Jacobs</b> senior v.p. of technical services, succeeding <b>Mike Balduzzi</b> who will retire. Jacobs was site v.p. at the Waterford 3 plant. <b>Mike Chisum</b>, who serves as general manager of plant operations at Arkansas Nuclear One, will succeed Jacobs at Waterford 3. </p>
<p><b>Southern Nuclear</b> appointed <b>Dennis Madison</b>, current site v.p. of the Edwin I. Hatch nuclear plant, to fleet operations v.p. at the company’s Birmingham, Ala., headquarters. <b>David Vineyard</b>, current plant manager at Hatch, will assume the role of site v.p. president. <b>Tony Spring</b> has been selected as Hatch plant manager. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Associations:</span> The <b>New York State Smart Grid Consortium</b> (NYSSGC) named executive director <b>James T. Gallagher</b> to the advisory board of GRID4EU. Prior to the executive director position at NYSSGC, Gallagher was senior manager for strategic planning at the <b>New York Independent System Operator</b> (NYISO).</p>
<p><b>Old Dominion Electric Cooperative</b> (ODEC) named <b>D. Richard Beam</b> senior v.p. of power supply. Beam was v.p. for power supply. His interim replacement is <b>Pete Gallini</b>, who also serves as senior director of power supply.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Boards of Directors:</span><b> </b><b>Duke Energy</b> elected <b>William E. Kennard</b>, former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, as a new board member.</p>
<p><b>CMS Energy</b> and its subsidiary, <b>Consumers Energy</b>, have elected <b>Kurt L. Darrow</b>, chairman, president and CEO of La-Z-Boy Inc., to its board of directors.</p>
<p><i>We welcome submissions to People, especially those accompanied by a high-resolution color photograph. E-mail to: <a href="mailto:people@pur.com">people@pur.com</a>.</i></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/idacorp">IDACORP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/idaho-power">Idaho Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/darrel-anderson">Darrel Anderson</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/j-lamont-keen">J. LaMont Keen</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/steven-r-keen">Steven R. Keen</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dte-energy">DTE Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/steve-kurmas">Steve Kurmas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jerry-norcia">Jerry Norcia</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dave-meador">Dave Meador</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/peter-oleksiak">Peter Oleksiak</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mark-stiers">Mark Stiers</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-company-0">Southern Company</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/public-service-enterprise-group">Public Service Enterprise Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/david-m-daly">David M. Daly</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pseg">PSE&amp;G</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion">Dominion</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/brian-c-sheppard">Brian C. Sheppard</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jeffrey-l-barger">Jeffrey L. Barger</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/montana-dakota-utilities">Montana-Dakota Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jay-skabo">Jay Skabo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nicole-kivisto">Nicole Kivisto</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/entergy-nuclear">Entergy Nuclear</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/donna-jacobs">Donna Jacobs</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mike-balduzzi">Mike Balduzzi</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mike-chisum">Mike Chisum</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-nuclear">Southern Nuclear</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dennis-madison">Dennis Madison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/david-vineyard">David Vineyard</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tony-spring">Tony Spring</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-york-state-grid-consortium">New York State Grid Consortium</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/james-t-gallagher">James T. Gallagher</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-york-independent-system-operator">New York Independent System Operator</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nyiso">NYISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/old-dominion">Old Dominion</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/d-richard-beam">D. Richard Beam</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pete-gallini">Pete Gallini</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke-energy">Duke Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/william-e-kennard">William E. Kennard</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/federal-communications-commission">Federal Communications Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fcc">FCC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cms-energy">CMS Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/consumers-energy">Consumers Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/kurt-l-darrow">Kurt L. Darrow</a> </div>
</div>
Sat, 28 Dec 2013 00:27:30 +0000meacott16964 at http://www.fortnightly.comMobile Mindsethttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/12/mobile-mindset
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Meeting customers’ service expectations in the smart phone era.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Carin van Vuuren</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Carin van Vuuren</b> is chief marketing officer at Usablenet.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - December 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Consumers everywhere are using their mobile devices to make life easier, get quick access to information, and manage their day-to-day lifestyle. Smartphone adoption and usage isn’t limited to certain age groups, markets or demographics; from millennials to baby boomers, the smartphone has become the go-to device. </p>
<p>Customers today expect their service providers to offer a useful and rewarding mobile experience, and companies are making it part of their overall brand and customer engagement strategies. For utilities, mobile takes on extra relevance in times of crisis. During times like these, mobile has the opportunity to become the most direct lifeline from utility companies to their customers.</p>
<p>The problem however, is that utility companies are late to the mobile game. Only 22 percent have created optimized mobile websites and only 7 percent have a native app. </p>
<h4>Learning from Sandy</h4>
<p>The devastation of Superstorm Sandy will never be forgotten – cited as potentially the most damaging hurricane recorded in U.S. history.<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/12/mobile-mindset?page=0%2C2#1" title="1. “Sandy may be the most damaging hurricane in recorded US history,” Examiner.com, Nov. 3, 2012.">1</a></sup></b> On top of the flooding and neighborhood destruction, CNN reported that the two-day storm in October 2012 caused more than 7.5 million power outages.</p>
<p>During a catastrophe such as Sandy – with rampant outages, wireless Internet connectivity impossible to find, and downed landlines – individuals immediately turn to their mobile phones as a resource for information and aid.</p>
<p>Customers of New York utility Con Edison, for example, used the utility company’s mobile site to report local outages, monitor repairs and receive real-time information and updates. Throughout Sandy, the mobile traffic for Con Edison and other utilities like Connecticut Light &amp; Power and the Long Island Power Authority skyrocketed 16,000 percent<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/12/mobile-mindset?page=0%2C2#2" title="2. http://allthingsd.com/20121106/all-it-took-was-a-hurricane-to-make-utility-company-mobile-sites-popular/">2</a></sup></b> – with mobile activity continuing at a steady high throughout the weeks following the storm. Having a reliable mobile web presence enabled ConEd and others to provide consumers with a lifeline to crucial information about their power situation during this challenging period.</p>
<h4>Strategic Thinking on Mobile</h4>
<p>When it comes to the mobile Internet, consumer behavior has changed dramatically and is unlikely to change back. In fact, Accenture reports that 70 percent of consumers would happily opt for an online-only service plan for a 10 percent decrease on their electricity bill. Moreover, Forrester Research estimates that utility companies can save an average of $20 to $35 per customer annually if they offer a self-service channel for online billing and payments. </p>
<p>The signs all point to mobile accessibility being of primary importance for utility companies. Here are four tips for its easy integration into a utility company’s overall customer engagement strategy:</p>
<p>First, mobile should be considered essential to the customer experience.</p>
<p>Utilities can expect that most of their future engagement with customers will be digital. Mobile has become part of the way brands now differentiate themselves and engage with customers. But it doesn’t stop there as mobile moves beyond engagement and into an operational effect on how customer service is delivered.</p>
<p>Gartner predicts<b><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/12/mobile-mindset?page=0%2C2#3" title="3. “What Hot in CRM Applications in 2013,” Gartner, June 20, 2013. Also see “What’s Hot in CRM 2013: Interest in Mobile for Streamlining Sales and Service,” Forbes, June 28, 2013.">3</a></sup></b> mobile increasingly will be an integral component to customer relationship management, especially with the rise of mobile and tablet commerce, access to social and cloud services via mobile, and the influx of mobile-enabled access to customer support representatives. As such, mobile must be seen as one channel among many others to ensure a seamless experience for customers, regardless the channel on which they choose to engage.</p>
<p>Mobile has the ability to transform the dynamics and cost of customer service. With mobile accessibility, utility companies can reduce call-center dependence by providing easy access to frequently asked information via mobile site or app. Utility companies also can implement a click-to-call feature on mobile devices, to offer customers a direct link between self service and a call-center customer service team. This easy access to live support enhances customer satisfaction for customers that prefer to receive assistance from a live person.</p>
<p>Second, service experiences should be designed to deliver value.</p>
<p>Simply having a mobile presence isn’t enough. A next-generation mobile experience that keeps up with improving technology and customer expectations will be most effective for utilities seeking to provide value for customers. Companies can do this by incorporating specific features and functionality to best offer customers a seamless and holistic experience via mobile.</p>
<p>In particular, the following features can enhance a utility’s mobile user experience:</p>
<p>• <i>On-The-Go Service Changes:</i> The ability to start, stop, or transfer service, view power outage maps and current statuses, calendar views of household usage, and direct access to call center support.</p>
<p>• <i>Efficient Metering:</i> The ability to easily review metered usage (or enter meter readings for manual meters) to aid in predicting personal billing statements as well as manage energy usage and help reduce household costs.</p>
<p>• <i>Fast and Easy Bill Payment:</i> The ability to process bill payments quickly and securely via smartphone or tablet.</p>
<p>These user experience functionalities can be built into both a mobile app or mobile web solution. A notable benefit to a mobile utility app, however, is the ability to create a personalized in-app experience that assists with the ease of repeated tasks, as well as native functionality to help with detail-oriented tasks, like efficient meter reading.</p>
<p>Third, a utility’s mobile platform should be a center of information.</p>
<p>Factors affecting utility service can change in real time, so a utility’s mobile service will be most effective if it provides up-to-date information affecting customers. For example, weather can change in a matter of minutes, and its effects on utility service change in real time. A mobile storm center can provide a direct, self-serve mobile communication channel for customers to find out about inclement weather and how their utility provider is working around it. Using location-based services to deliver relevant information, utility companies can offer customers regional information about the status of outages, updates on service repairs in the area, and access to view a local power outage map, with weather feeds also incorporated into the systems. Storm center functionality will aggregate all valuable information so that customers don’t need to search for it themselves.</p>
<p>Fourth, mobile apps and websites should be built for speed and performance.</p>
<p>Consumers are increasingly intolerant of websites that aren’t optimized for mobile, as well as marketing that’s irrelevant and doesn’t match their interests. Fast, smooth performance is a higher priority than marketing presentation. For example, utilities shouldn’t be swayed by the attraction and seeming ease of responsive design to deliver consistent presentation of mobile content on every screen size. The tradeoff for such a solution is heavy files and slow page load speeds. </p>
<p>An IBM study found that 63 percent of online adults experiencing a problem with a mobile transaction would be less likely to do business with that company via other channels. Speed is integral to a mobile experience, and must be planned thoughtfully. A few key tips can help ensure speed is at the forefront of design goals:</p>
<p>• <i>Keep it Lightweight:</i> Make sure the mobile experience has reduced size images, minimal JavaScript, and reduced CSS so that the mobile site doesn’t become a data hog.</p>
<p>• <i>Reduce IP Requests:</i> Mobile needs to be treated differently from a desktop experience by minimizing the amount of IP requests. To put this in context, desktop browsers often make more than 100 requests for a single web page to display completely, but mobile sites should aim to be in the 40 to 60 request sweet spot. </p>
<p>• <i>Strong UI/UX:</i> If a website is visually appealing, it will make the user experience overall more pleasant. Utilities should choose colors that stand out and create a touchpad experience that’s straightforward and easy to navigate. Pages with purchase transactions should direct customers to the checkout process with ease and minimize the number of steps to complete it.</p>
<p>• <i>Test Repeatedly:</i><b> </b>The best way to improve performance is to constantly test and retest. Some companies even bring in a third party who specializes in mobile performance testing, for dependable and actionable feedback.</p>
<h4>Engagement and Brand Differentiation</h4>
<p>Beyond mobile-friendly industries like retail and travel, mobile is an important part of brand and customer experience strategies for all businesses, including utilities. Mobile affects everyone, but the utility’s strategy should be approached with the customer’s needs in mind. The mobile experiences a utility creates should be designed to save the customer’s time, as well as provide critical information and service during outages and other emergencies.</p>
<p>The time is now for utility companies to provide customers with a useful and reliable mobile experience. Utility companies have the opportunity to leverage mobile technology to better establish brand loyalty, offer customers the engaging experience they want and need from their utility companies, and most importantly, establish themselves as a trusted lifeline for users in times of crises.</p>
<h4>Endnotes:</h4>
<p><a name="1" id="1"></a>1. “Sandy may be the most damaging hurricane in recorded US history,” Examiner.com, Nov. 3, 2012.</p>
<p><a name="2" id="2"></a>2. <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20121106/all-it-took-was-a-hurricane-to-make-utility-company-mobile-sites-popular/" target="_blank">http://allthingsd.com/20121106/all-it-took-was-a-hurricane-to-make-utility-company-mobile-sites-popular/</a></p>
<p><a name="3" id="3"></a>3. “What Hot in CRM Applications in 2013,” Gartner, June 20, 2013. Also see “What’s Hot in CRM 2013: Interest in Mobile for Streamlining Sales and Service,” <i>Forbes</i>, June 28, 2013.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/customer-engagement">Customer Engagement</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/smart-grid">Smart Grid</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/article-categories/security-reliability-cip">Security, Reliability &amp; CIP</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/technology-corridor">Technology Corridor</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1312-TC.jpg" width="1500" height="1051" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/mobile">Mobile</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/smart-phone">smart phone</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/app">app</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/superstorm-sandy">Superstorm Sandy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cnn">CNN</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-york">New York</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/con-edison">Con Edison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/connecticut">Connecticut</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/forrester-research">Forrester Research</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/online-billing">online billing</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/payment">Payment</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/engagement">Engagement</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/digital">digital</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gartner">Gartner</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/usablenet">Usablenet</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/call-center-0">call-center</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/service-changes">service changes</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/metering">metering</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bill-payment">bill payment</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mobile-app">mobile app</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/information">information</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/location-based">location-based</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storm-center">storm center</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/uiux">UI/UX</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/checkout">checkout</a> </div>
</div>
Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:49:08 +0000meacott16930 at http://www.fortnightly.comFranchise Fracashttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/02/franchise-fracas
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Will Boulder be the last city to go muni? Don’t bet on it.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Michael T. Burr</strong> is <em>Fortnightly’s</em> editor-in-chief. Email him at <a href="mailto:burr@pur.com">burr@pur.com</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - February 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>When Administrative Law Judge Paul Gomez denied “with prejudice” Public Service Co. of Colorado’s (PSCo) petition to recover $16.6 million in cost overruns for its Boulder SmartGridCity pilot, the ruling marked the latest in a series of black eyes the utility has suffered over the project.</p>
<p>In a scathing mid-January decision,<strong><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/02/franchise-fracas/page/0/2#1" title="1. PUC of Colorado Dkt. No. 11A-1001E, Decision No. R13-0096, Jan. 17, 2013.">1</a></sup></strong> Judge Gomez said the company had failed to prove the project’s extra costs were prudently incurred. He termed PSCo’s purported consumer benefits “meager,” and said its petition lacked “any showing of cost-effectiveness.”</p>
<p>In addition to forcing utility shareholders to absorb millions of dollars in capital costs, the judge’s decision provides fresh ammunition to Boulder community leaders who are working to oust the utility—an outcome that looks increasingly likely after a series of ballot initiatives ended PSCo’s franchise and gave the city council an apparent mandate for local control.</p>
<p>The Boulder story can be read as a cautionary tale for utilities that seek to innovate on behalf of their customers. But the same story can be read in other ways—producing less encouraging conclusions for utilities like PSCo and its parent company, Xcel. One such conclusion is this: when the goals of a utility and its host community aren’t in synch, that’s when breakups happen.</p>
<h4><b>Taxing Occupation</b></h4>
<p>Although Xcel selected Boulder for its SGC project in 2008, the whole story goes back to 2002. That’s the year the Boulder city council adopted the Kyoto Protocol and set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012. In 2006, Boulder voters approved a tax on electricity consumption to fund the city’s climate action plan. At about the same time, the city council hired R.W. Beck to study the feasibility of municipalizing the utility system to help Boulder achieve its environmental goals. </p>
<p>“We wanted to decarbonize our energy supply,” said Susan Osborne, Boulder city council member from 2007 through 2011, and mayor from 2009 to 2011, speaking last fall to a Minneapolis group that’s also considering municipalization. “About 65 percent of [Boulder’s] electricity is produced by a couple of coal-fired plants,” she said. “It became clear we’d never reach our Kyoto goal unless we did something about our energy supply.”</p>
<p>Soon after Boulder began exploring municipalization, Xcel proposed the SGC and promised a host of benefits for the city—including greater potential for conservation and renewable energy integration. The city liked the proposal, and so agreed to suspend its work on municipalization, pending the outcome of SGC.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Xcel project ran into trouble, including the defection of some vendor partners and even company executives. The utility’s share of the project’s cost, originally estimated at about $15 million, grew to $44.5 million—$16.6 million more than state regulators would allow. And perhaps most importantly, the project fell short of Boulder’s expectations, especially in terms of customer benefits.<strong><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/02/franchise-fracas/page/0/2#2" title="2. “Xcel’s SmartGridCity Plan fails to connect with Boulder,” Denver Post, Oct. 28, 2012.">2</a></sup></strong></p>
<p>“There was very little that a consumer of electricity got out of the effort, even though it was hyped a lot when the city suspended municipalization talks,” Osborne said. In 2009, Boulder and Xcel began negotiating a new franchise, but those talks were destined for failure. “We wanted more local control of our energy use,” explained Osborne. So in 2010 the Boulder city council voted against putting a new franchise agreement on the ballot, instead asking voters to approve a pair of measures—one that levied a “utility occupation tax” to replace the franchise fee, and another authorizing bonds to fund municipalization efforts.</p>
<p>Both measures passed. At this writing Boulder seems intent on going muni, while at the same time leaving its options open, seeking to “partner” with Xcel on the city’s goals without committing to a 20-year franchise.<strong><sup><a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2013/02/franchise-fracas/page/0/2#3" title="3. “City Council Round Table Discussion: Exploring Alternative Opportunities for Reaching Boulder’s Energy Future Goals,” Memo from Heather Bailey to Boulder City Council, Dec. 6, 2012.">3</a></sup></strong></p>
<h4><b>Competitive Transition</b></h4>
<p>On the surface, the Boulder case might seem unique, given the particulars of the SGC project. However, the municipalization phenomenon isn’t new—and it’s not over.</p>
<p>Most recently, around the year 2000, a wave of cities tried to municipalize utility assets. Those efforts were driven by various factors, the biggest being the competitive transition charges that some states added to utility bills to pay for retail deregulation and stranded-cost recovery; cities hoped to avoid those costs by dumping IOUs and creating munis. None of those efforts succeeded, but a few municipalizations prevailed for other reasons. Long Island Power Authority bought LILCO after the Shoreham nuclear failure and an extended outage following Hurricane Gloria. Hermiston, Ore., took over Pacificorp’s assets in 2001 because customers were unhappy with their service. And Winter Park, Fla., whose residents were angry over repeated outages, canceled Florida Power’s franchise and purchased its assets in 2005.</p>
<p>More recently, a few communities have begun pursuing municipalization for some of the same reasons that drove the trend a decade ago—plus some new ones.</p>
<p>• In Thurston County, Wash. (pop. 257,000), residents dissatisfied with Puget Sound Energy’s prices, service, and offshore ownership garnered enough signatures to put a municipalization question on the ballot in 2012. The measure failed, but proponents promise to keep trying.<strong><sup><a href="#4" title="4. http://www.thurstonpublicpower.org">4</a></sup></strong></p>
<p>• At the opposite corner of the country, South Daytona, Fla. (pop. 12,000) decided to municipalize after FPL in 2006 presented the city with a “nonnegotiable” franchise agreement that would’ve stripped out a purchase option like the one that allowed Winter Park to municipalize in the previous year.<strong><sup><a href="#5" title="5. Electric System Municipalization Feasibility Study, City of South Daytona, Jan. 30, 2012.">5</a></sup></strong> After several years of exploration, the city negotiated a buyout, but the deal was scuttled at the polls in November 2012.</p>
<p>• In Minnesota’s largest city, Minneapolis (pop. 388,000), utility franchises are set to expire for Xcel in 2014 and CenterPoint in 2015. A nonprofit group, Minneapolis Energy Options,<strong><sup><a href="#6" title="6. http://minneapolisenergyoptions.org">6</a></sup></strong> is working to put a question on the ballot this year that could end the franchises, or replace them with short-term agreements that would give the city time to explore alternatives. According to Dylan Kesti, campaign coordinator, the drivers are similar to those in Boulder. “The city’s climate action goals are in danger of being unmet, while emissions from the two utilities comprise two-thirds of the problem,” Kesti said. “The expiration of the franchise is a once-in-20-years opportunity to change that trajectory.”</p>
<p>Notably the Minneapolis group’s website observes that even if the city doesn’t go muni, raising the very prospect confers leverage in negotiating with the utilities. It’s also noteworthy that among recent municipalization efforts, none are happening in retail choice states, where communities are able to aggregate their load to negotiate better energy supply deals. For example, Chicago just joined at least 200 other Illinois cities and towns whose residents opted to aggregate.</p>
<p>The aggregation trend doesn’t challenge the utility franchise. But it does show that given a chance, local communities will take energy choices into their own hands. The impetus to do so is getting stronger—as outage events like those following Superstorm Sandy leave customers disgruntled, and as distributed resources make clean, local options increasingly viable. </p>
<p>In the end, companies that focus on helping communities achieve their goals might be more successful than those that concentrate on securing their franchises.</p>
<h4><b>Endnotes:</b></h4>
<p><a name="1" id="1"></a>1. PUC of Colorado Dkt. No. 11A-1001E, Decision No. R13-0096, Jan. 17, 2013.</p>
<p><a name="2" id="2"></a>2. <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_21871552/xcels-smartgridcity-plan-fails-connect-boulder" target="_blank">“Xcel’s SmartGridCity Plan fails to connect with Boulder</a>,” Denver Post, Oct. 28, 2012.</p>
<p><a name="3" id="3"></a>3. “<a href="http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/files/Energy/2012/EF_Options_Dec2012.pdf" target="_blank">City Council Round Table Discussion: Exploring Alternative Opportunities for Reaching Boulder’s Energy Future Goals</a>,” Memo from Heather Bailey to Boulder City Council, Dec. 6, 2012.</p>
<p><a name="4" id="4"></a>4. <a href="http://www.thurstonpublicpower.org" target="_blank">http://www.thurstonpublicpower.org</a></p>
<p><a name="5" id="5"></a>5. <a href="http://www.southdaytona.org/egov/documents/13280310668692.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Electric System Municipalization Feasibility Study</i></a>, City of South Daytona, Jan. 30, 2012.</p>
<p><a name="6" id="6"></a>6. <a href="http://minneapolisenergyoptions.org" target="_blank">http://minneapolisenergyoptions.org</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/commercial-industrial">Commercial &amp; Industrial</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/distributed-generation">Distributed Generation &amp; Microgrids</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/article-categories/customer-engagement">Customer Engagement</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3"><a href="/article-categories/dr-conservation">DR &amp; Conservation</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-4"><a href="/article-categories/retail-markets">Retail Markets</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-5"><a href="/article-categories/states">The States</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-6"><a href="/article-categories/rate-cases">Rate Cases</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-7"><a href="/article-categories/strategy-planning">Strategy &amp; Planning</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-8"><a href="/article-categories/smart-grid">Smart Grid</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/frontlines">Frontlines</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1302-FR.jpg" width="762" height="445" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/boulder">Boulder</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/municipalization">municipalization</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/utility-franchise">utility franchise</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/xcel">Xcel</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/public-service-company-colorado">Public Service Company of Colorado</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/minneapolis">Minneapolis</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/paul-gomez">Paul Gomez</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/susan-osborne">Susan Osborne</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/winter-park">Winter Park</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lilco">LILCO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shoreham">Shoreham</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hurricane-gloria">Hurricane Gloria</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hermiston">Hermiston</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/superstorm-sandy">Superstorm Sandy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dylan-kesti">Dylan Kesti</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/aggregation">aggregation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/smart-grid">Smart grid</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/customer-engagement">Customer engagement</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/microgrid">Microgrid</a> </div>
</div>
Tue, 29 Jan 2013 01:31:57 +0000meacott16411 at http://www.fortnightly.comVendor Neutralhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2012/06/vendor-neutral
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Vendor Neutral</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly - June 2012</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1206-VENpic1.jpg" width="945" height="546" alt="Progress Energy will be the first U.S. nuclear operator to use Westinghouse’s underwater laser beam welding process." title="Progress Energy will be the first U.S. nuclear operator to use Westinghouse’s underwater laser beam welding process." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1206-VENpic2.jpg" width="972" height="546" alt="PG&amp;E launched a pilot project to demonstrate smart charging of Honda Fit electric vehicles." title="PG&amp;E launched a pilot project to demonstrate smart charging of Honda Fit electric vehicles." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1206-VENpic3.jpg" width="420" height="955" alt="The City of Milwaukee installed new EV charging stations at the Discovery World Museum." title="The City of Milwaukee installed new EV charging stations at the Discovery World Museum." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1206-VENpic4.jpg" width="1038" height="794" alt="Green Charge Networks contracted Princeton Power Systems to provide inverters for a $95 million battery electric storage project." title="Green Charge Networks contracted Princeton Power Systems to provide inverters for a $95 million battery electric storage project." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1206-VENpic5.jpg" width="1600" height="1200" alt="Green Charge Networks contracted Princeton Power Systems to provide inverters for a $95 million battery electric storage project." title="Green Charge Networks contracted Princeton Power Systems to provide inverters for a $95 million battery electric storage project." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h4>Generation</h4>
<p><b>South Carolina </b><b>Electric &amp; Gas</b> (SCE&amp;G) gave <b>Shaw Group</b> and <b>Westinghouse</b> full notice to proceed on their engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power units and related facilities at the V.C. Summer nuclear station near Jenkinsville, S.C. The project is owned by SCE&amp;G and Santee Cooper. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the project’s combined operating license (COL) in March 2012. The EPC contract previously was announced in May 2008, and the South Carolina Public Service Commission approved the project in February 2009.</p>
<p><b>Progress Energy</b> awarded a contract to <b>Westinghouse </b>for underwater laser beam welding (ULBW) at the Robinson nuclear plant in Hartsville, S.C. The ULBW process previously was used in Japan, but this will be its first application at a U.S. nuclear plant. Developed jointly by Westinghouse and majority owner Toshiba, ULBW applies weld metal that resists stress, corrosion, and cracking on the inside surface of aged components, serving as a method of mitigation and repair. At Robinson Unit 2, the process will be applied to reactor vessel welds during the plant’s fall 2013 outage.</p>
<p><b>Ameren Missouri</b> entered an agreement with <b>Westinghouse</b> to exclusively support Westinghouse’s application for funding under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) small modular reactor (SMR) program. The program is intended to provide up to $452 million to support engineering, design certifications, and operating licenses for one or two SMR designs over five years. A final funding award is expected this summer.</p>
<p><b>Southern California Edison </b>(SCE) completed additional inspections of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Unit 2 steam generators, based on Unit 3 findings. In two of the nearly 20,000 tubes in the Unit 2 generators, SCE on April 11 identified wear patterns similar to the type of wear previously seen in Unit 3. SONGS Unit 2 was taken out of service for a planned outage on January 9, and Unit 3 was shut down on January 31, after station operators detected a leak in one of the unit’s steam generator tubes. In a related project, SCE and <b>Scripps Institution of Oceanography</b> at the University of California at San Diego are collaborating to gather seismic data off the coast near San Onofre. The work will begin later this year and continue through 2013, evaluating existing and potential faults in the area, and imaging offshore structures. The survey aims to let scientists test between alternative hypotheses for tectonic deformation observed in the area.</p>
<p><b>AREVA</b> and <b>EDF</b> signed an agreement for the supply of fuel assemblies and related services during 2013 and 2014. The two companies also entered negotiations for a medium- to long-term framework agreement on the production of fuel elements.</p>
<p><b>Martifer Solar </b>completed two solar installations for the <b>Westfield Group</b>, one of the world’s largest real-estate investment trusts (REIT) to own and operate photovoltaic systems. The installations, totaling 1.7 MW, are located at Westfield Topanga and Westfield Fashion Square shopping malls in Southern California. Both systems use rooftop panels, with solar carports built at Fashion Square.</p>
<p><b>DTE Energy</b> plans to build a 110-MW wind farm in Huron County, Mich. The company expects to file for approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission this summer, and to begin construction next year. The project will include 70 turbines located on a 16,000-acre parcel, within 80,000 acres in Huron County where DTE Energy has acquired easements. The company began construction this year on three other wind projects, totaling another 110 MW, in Huron and Sanilac counties. DTE expects total investment for all four farms will be about $500 million.</p>
<p><b>Edison Mission Group </b>(EMG) and <b>Nebraska Public</b><b>Power District </b>(NPPD) began construction on a new 42-MW wind project. The Crofton Bluffs project is located in Knox County near the towns of Crofton and Bloomfield in northeast Nebraska, and will be comprised of 22 turbines. NPPD will purchase the output under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Construction is scheduled to be completed by year end.</p>
<p><b>NTE Energy</b> was awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent Office for its biomass hybrid renewable energy technology, which will allow simultaneous operation of biomass generation in concert with a traditional power plant. NTE Energy expects to use and license the technology for new power facilities in the United States, including projects under development in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia.</p>
<h4>Metering</h4>
<p><b>Long Island Power Authority </b>(LIPA) selected <b>Landis+Gyr</b> to deploy a smart grid demonstration project that will test consumer response to dynamic pricing signals, as well as the scalability of smart grid technology. The deployment, located along the Route 110 corridor and the Farmingdale State College campus in Farmingdale, N.Y., includes a radio-frequency smart grid network, along with advanced meters and in-home energy displays.</p>
<p><b>Burlington Electric Department </b>(BED) of Burlington, Vt., selected <b>Itron’s</b> smart grid solution to manage its electric grid. BED hopes the system will help improve its energy forecasting capabilities and optimize its distribution system, as well as to support future rate structure regulations and improve outage reporting and restoration. The system will allow on-demand reads and remote disconnects and reconnects.</p>
<p><b>E.ON UK</b> selected <b>Elster</b> as its smart metering partner for the first phase of its dual-service smart metering rollout. E.ON will deploy up to 100,000 Elster residential smart meters by the end of 2012, with up to 200,000 more being installed in 2013 under the terms of a two-year contract. The deployment will use AS300P electricity smart meters and BK-G4E gas smart meters.</p>
<p><b>Atlantic Municipal Utilities </b>(AMU) chose <b>Tantalus</b> for its AMI deployment. The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) contributed to the project, which is funded by a U.S. DOE grant. The AMI system will provide consumption reporting, power quality monitoring, outage notification, and voltage alarms for AMU and its customers. It also will enable AMU to control select air-conditioning and water-heater loads.</p>
<p><b>PowerOneData International</b>, which provides AMI and meter data management (MDM) software, collaborated with <b>Bharat Connect </b>to co-develop a smart meter that incorporates broadband-over-power line capability into its hardware architecture. The companies intend to co-market the product along with PowerOneData International’s cloud-based MDM software.</p>
<h4>Transmission</h4>
<p><b>American Electric Power</b> and <b>Great Plains Energy</b> formed a new company to develop and invest in transmission. The company, <b>Transource Energy</b>, plans to pursue competitive transmission projects in the PJM Interconnection, Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and Midwest ISO transmission regions. AEP owns 86.5 percent of Transource, while Great Plains Energy owns 13.5 percent. Great Plains Energy says it will seek regulatory approval to transfer to Transource two SPP-approved projects in Nebraska and Missouri—the $380-million, 175-mile Sibley-Nebraska City line, and the $54-million, 30-mile Iatan-Nashua line. The 345-kV lines are expected to enter service in 2017 and 2015, respectively.<b> </b>Transource expects to seek permits this summer from the Missouri Public Service Commission, and also intends to apply for FERC formula rates.</p>
<p><b>Western Area Power Administration</b> and <b>Southline Transmission</b> signed an advanced funding agreement that will pay for Western staff support for the proposed Southline transmission project during its development phase. The project would collect and deliver electricity across southern New Mexico and southern Arizona, relieving congestion, strengthening the existing system, and improving transmission access for local renewable and other energy sources. The project consists of two segments: a new double circuit 345-kV line linking substations near Las Cruces, N.M., and Willcox, Ariz.; and an upgrade and rebuild of 130 miles of existing lines between two substations near Tucson, Ariz. Under the agreement, Southline will cover Western’s costs related to federal environmental permitting and Western Electricity Coordinating Council path rating, as well as Western’s due diligence and interconnection contracting work. The agreement will remain in effect throughout the project’s development period, after which Western and Southline will determine whether to seek borrowing authority under Western’s transmission infrastructure program.</p>
<p><b>Oncor</b> contracted <b>ABB</b> to supply $45 million in flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS). ABB will design, supply, install, and commission one static var compensator (SVC) and two series compensators. Oncor is installing the systems as part of its participation in the Texas competitive renewable energy zones (CREZ) program, which aims to increase the state’s renewable energy generation capacity by up to 18 GW.</p>
<p><b>American Transmission Co.</b> received approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission to build a 5.8-mile, 345-kV transmission line. The $31-million line will connect a substation in Pleasant Prairie, Wisc., to the Zion Energy Center substation in Zion, Ill. ATC filed a permit application with the Wisconsin PSC in October 2011. If the project is approved, construction is expected to begin in late 2012 and enter service in 2013.</p>
<h4>EVs &amp; Storage</h4>
<p><b>Pacific Gas &amp; Electric</b> (PG&amp;E) teamed with <b>IBM</b> and <b>American Honda Motor Co.</b> on a pilot project that will allow communication between electric vehicles (EV) and the power grid. The project will demonstrate and test an EV’s ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on grid condition and the vehicle’s battery state. The demonstration will use IBM’s cloud-based software platform to create an individualized charging plan for Honda’s Fit EV battery electric vehicles. When plugged into a charge post, the EV will initiate a charge request via an onboard navigation system. Using aggregated data on grid state and battery status, the vehicle will charge to the required level while factoring grid constraints. Smart charging capability will enable energy providers to manage the power used by EVs during peak times by instructing vehicles to delay or adjust charging if required.</p>
<p><b>Coulomb Technologies</b> unveiled new EV charging stations at the Discovery World museum in Milwaukee. The stations, commissioned by the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES), are part of Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network. Funding for the project is provided for through an <i>American Recovery and Reinvestment Act </i>grant from the U.S. DOE. The Discovery World site is one of two EV charging stations now available for public use in Milwaukee, with three additional sites coming soon. Carbon Day Automotive, along with local partner ElectriCharge Mobility, provided the charging stations for these projects as part of the network expansion throughout Wisconsin. <b> </b></p>
<p><b>GE’s Energy Storage</b> business, a unit of GE Transportation, signed a business cooperation agreement with <b>Arista Power</b> to jointly promote and market Arista’s new power-on-demand system, incorporating GE’s new Durathon nickel salt batteries. GE says the batteries are 50 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than traditional batteries. Arista’s system includes proprietary real-time demand monitoring technology.</p>
<p><b>Princeton Power Systems </b>(PPS) was selected as the inverter supplier by Green Charge Networks (GCN) to support its role in a $95 million smart grid and electric storage demonstration project for the U.S. DOE. The multi-year project, led by Consolidated Edison, aims to test new electric delivery technologies, including the integration of smart grid architecture, and measuring the effects of widespread EV adoption. GCN’s scope of work includes the installation and operation of a network of smart storage and generation units—called GreenStations—that will communicate directly with Con Edison. The GreenStations include multiple 100-kW grid-tied inverters and demand response inverters, which will function as the interface between the electric grid and the lithium-ion battery system.</p>
<p><b>Prudent Energy</b> commissioned what the company says is the largest vanadium flow battery system in the world. The system, which is connected to the Southern California Edison grid, will be used to expand the onsite power supply at a Gills Onions agricultural processing facility.</p>
<p><b>Chrysler Group</b>, working with the U.S. DOE, delivered eight Chrysler Town &amp; Country plug-in hybrid minivans to <b>Duke Energy</b>. Chrysler says the fleet is largest such deployment to date, and is part of a two-year study that includes 25 plug-in hybrid minivans subjected to a range of driving cycles. Each minivan is equipped with an E85-compatible 3.6-liter engine, as well as a liquid-cooled 12.1-KWh lithium-ion battery, to provide a total output of 290 horsepower and a range of 700 miles.</p>
<h4>People</h4>
<p><b>Hunton &amp; Williams </b>added six partners to its global energy and infrastructure practice. Bud Ellis formerly was co-head of the Dewey &amp; LeBoeuf utilities, power, and pipelines industry group. Kevin C. Felz, Michael F. Fitzpatrick Jr., Steven C. Friend, Steve R. Loeshelle, and Peter K. O’Brien also came from Dewey &amp; LeBoeuf, where they focused on public and private capital markets transactions for power companies and financial firms.</p>
<p><b>The Energy Authority </b>(TEA) selected <b>Jamie L. Mahne</b> as v.p. of client services and chief client officer. Mahne originally joined TEA as an implementation manager in 2008, and most recently held the position of member services manager.</p>
<p><b>FlexEnergy</b> promoted <b>Jay Mitchell </b>to CEO. Previously he was president and COO. He succeeds <b>Joseph Z. Perry</b>, who served as CEO since 2009. Perry will remain a FlexEnergy advisor and shareholder.</p>
<h4>Transactions</h4>
<p><b>Duke Energy Renewables</b> sold a 50-percent ownership stake in two Kansas wind farms to <b>Sumitomo Corp. of America</b>, and the companies secured $353 million in financing for construction and operating costs. Construction is proceeding at the 131-MW Cimarron II and 168-MW Ironwood wind projects in Gray and Ford counties, with startup expected late in 2012. The financing consists of a $330-million construction and term loan and a $23-million letter of credit. The lenders were Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Mizuho Corporate Bank, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The facilities will sell power and renewable energy credits to Kansas City Power &amp; Light and Westar Energy under 20-year agreements.<b> </b></p>
<p><b>Northeast Utilities</b> and <b>NStar</b> completed their $5 billion merger. The newly combined company operates six electric and natural gas utilities serving 3.5 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and employs 9,000 workers. Boston-based NStar is now a Northeast Utilities subsidiary. Dual headquarters for the company operate in Hartford and Boston.</p>
<p><b>Fuji Electric</b> invested $10 million in the 49-MW Hudson Ranch II geothermal plant in Imperial Valley, Calif., owned and operated by EnergySource. Drilling in the Salton Sea resource is expected to begin mid-year 2012, with plant construction to begin in 2013, and commercial operations in 2015.</p>
<h4>Smart Grid</h4>
<p><b>Alstom Grid</b> was selected to provide its e-terradistribution integrated distribution management system (IDMS) for <b>Maui Electric Co.’s </b>(MECO) smart grid demonstration project. Funded by the U.S. DOE and co-led by the University of Hawaii’s Natural Energy Institute, the project will demonstrate how smart grid technologies can help MECO reduce peak demand, improve service quality, inform consumer energy use decisions, and integrate renewable energy. Technologies to be tested include advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), home area networks, and battery energy storage. Alstom’s IDMS applications will integrate information from the smart grid network to improve monitoring and control of MECO’s distribution system and distributed energy resources. MECO hopes the system will provide self-healing capabilities to its grid, while improving power quality and energy efficiency.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/generation-markets">Generation &amp; Markets</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/td-grid">T&amp;D Grid</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/article-categories/finance">Finance</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/vendor-neutral">Vendor Neutral</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/south-carolina-electric-gas">South Carolina Electric &amp; Gas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sceg-0">SCE&amp;G</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shaw-group-0">Shaw Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/westinghouse">Westinghouse</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/progress-energy">Progress Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ameren">Ameren</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-california">Southern California</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sce">SCE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/landisgyr">Landis+Gyr</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/burlington-electric-department">Burlington Electric Department</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/itron">Itron</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/eon-uk">E.ON UK</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/elster">Elster</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/atlantic-municipal-utilities">Atlantic Municipal Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/amu">AMU</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tantalus">Tantalus</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/poweronedata-international">PowerOneData International</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bharat-connect">Bharat Connect</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/scripps-institution-oceanography">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/areva">Areva</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/edf">EDF</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/martifer-solar">Martifer Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/westfield-group">Westfield Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dte">DTE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-electric-power">American Electric Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/great-plains">Great Plains</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transource">Transource</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/western-area-power-administration">Western Area Power Administration</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southline-transmission">Southline Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/edison-mission-group">Edison Mission Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/emg">EMG</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nebraska-public-power-district">Nebraska Public Power District</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nppd">NPPD</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nte">NTE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oncor">Oncor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/abb">ABB</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-transmission">American Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pacific-gas-electric">Pacific Gas &amp; Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pge">PG&amp;E</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ibm">IBM</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-honda-motor">American Honda Motor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/coulomb-technologies">Coulomb Technologies</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ge">GE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arista">Arista</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/princeton-power-systems">Princeton Power Systems</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/prudent">Prudent</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chrysler">Chrysler</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke">Duke</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hunton-williams">Hunton &amp; Williams</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energy-authority">The Energy Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tea">TEA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jamie-l-mahne">Jamie L. Mahne</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/flexenergy">FlexEnergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jay-mitchell">Jay Mitchell</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/joseph-z-perry">Joseph Z. Perry</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/northeast-utilities">Northeast Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nstar">NStar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fuji-electric">Fuji Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sumitomo">Sumitomo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom">Alstom</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/maui-electric">Maui Electric</a> </div>
</div>
Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:00 +0000puradmin14602 at http://www.fortnightly.comVendor Neutralhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2012/02/vendor-neutral
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Vendor Neutral</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - February 2012</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1202-VENpic1.jpg" width="1478" height="1044" alt="Entergy closed a $346-million deal to acquire the 583-MW Rhode Island State Energy Center." title="Entergy closed a $346-million deal to acquire the 583-MW Rhode Island State Energy Center." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1202-VENpic2.jpg" width="500" height="447" alt="Duke Energy and American Transmission Co. acquired the 950-mile Zephyr Power transmission project from Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy." title="Duke Energy and American Transmission Co. acquired the 950-mile Zephyr Power transmission project from Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1202-VENpic3.jpg" width="383" height="236" alt="MidAmerican Energy Holdings acquired a 49-percent stake in the 290-MW Agua Caliente solar PV project in Arizona." title="MidAmerican Energy Holdings acquired a 49-percent stake in the 290-MW Agua Caliente solar PV project in Arizona." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1202-VENpic4.jpg" width="711" height="416" alt="GE signed a $300 million contract to supply 13 Frame 7EA gas turbines to Saudi Electricity Co." title="GE signed a $300 million contract to supply 13 Frame 7EA gas turbines to Saudi Electricity Co." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1202-VENpic5.jpg" width="690" height="518" alt="NRG will install 1,500 solar panels at the MetLife football stadium, home of the New York Jets and Giants." title="NRG will install 1,500 solar panels at the MetLife football stadium, home of the New York Jets and Giants." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h4>Transactions</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Constellation Energy</span> signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of <span class="boldred">ONEOK Energy Marketing Co.</span> (OEMC), a Tulsa, Okla.-based retail natural gas marketing company with 26,100 customers. The proposed purchase of OEMC, a subsidiary of ONEOK, for $22.5 million, plus working capital, expands Constellation Energy’s business and residential customer base in seven states: Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Illinois. The deal is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2012.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Siemens</span> signed an agreement to acquire all of the stock of <span class="boldred">eMeter</span>, headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. Terms weren’t disclosed. eMeter will be part of the smart grid division of the Siemens Infrastructure &amp; Cities Sector, which is housed within Siemens Industry Inc. eMeter will become a global business segment and center of competence for meter data management (MDM), and will continue operating from its San Mateo headquarters.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Entergy Wholesale Commodities</span> completed the previously announced purchase of the Rhode Island State Energy Center (RISEC), a 583-MW power plant located in Johnston, R.I., from subsidiaries of <span class="boldred">NextEra Energy</span> for approximately $346 million. The Siemens natural gas-fired combined-cycle generating plant entered service in 2002. RISEC recently completed work with Siemens to uprate its combustion turbines, increasing the facility’s nominal capacity from 550 MW.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">OwnEnergy</span> closed a transaction in Kay County, Okla., in which <span class="boldred">NextEra Energy Resources</span> will acquire, construct and operate the 60-MW Blackwell wind farm. Startup is expected by the end of 2012, with output sold under a long-term contract to Oklahoma Gas &amp; Electric, which entered a parallel 20-year agreement to provide wind power to the Stillwater campus of Oklahoma State University.</p>
<p>A joint venture of <span class="boldred">Duke Energy</span> and <span class="boldred">American Transmission Co. </span>(DATC) acquired the <span class="boldred">Zephyr Power</span> transmission project from a subsidiary of Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy. The Zephyr project is a 950-mile transmission line that would deliver wind energy generated in eastern Wyoming to California and the southwestern United States. Pathfinder is developing a wind power project on more than 100,000 acres near Chugwater, Wyo., and has committed to use at least 2,100 MW of the Zephyr project’s 3,000-MW capacity. The Zephyr project would originate in Chugwater and terminate in the Eldorado Valley just south of Las Vegas, Nev. The 500-kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) project, estimated to cost approximately $3.5 billion, will include an AC/DC converter station at each end. While wind generation and transmission development are being pursued separately, Pathfinder and DATC have agreed to work together to increase the viability of the integrated projects.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Duke Energy Renewables</span> purchased the 5-MW Ajo and 15-MW Bagdad solar projects from <span class="boldred">Recurrent Energy</span>. The Ajo project started up in late September, and the Bagdad project is scheduled for startup by the end of 2012. <span class="boldred">Arizona Public Service Co. </span>(APS) will buy all of the output from both solar farms under two 25-year agreements. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">JCM Capital</span> signed an agreement with <span class="boldred">Hay Solar Holdings</span> to provide development, construction, and long-term equity financing for a 30 MW portfolio of modular 100-kW farm building solar installations located throughout Ontario. JCM has secured feed-in-tariff contracts for 65 commercial rooftop sites and has already started the construction of its first site in the fourth quarter of 2011. This agreement with Hay Solar brings JCM’s total portfolio volume to approximately 155 MW. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">MidAmerican Energy Holdings</span> agreed to acquire the Topaz Solar Farm, a 550-MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant being built in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. from First Solar. First Solar will construct, operate, and maintain the project. Construction began in November 2011 and is expected to be complete by early 2015. Pacific Gas &amp; Electric will purchase the output under a 25-year power purchase agreement.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">MidAmerican Energy Holdings</span> also announced it would acquire a 49-percent interest in <span class="boldred">Agua Caliente</span>, a 290- MW PV project located in Yuma County, Ariz., from <span class="boldred">NRG Energy</span>. The $1.8 billion project, which is being built by <span class="boldred">First Solar</span> and expected to be complete by 2014, is supported by a $967 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy and a long-term power purchase agreement with <span class="boldred">Pacific Gas and Electric</span> for all of the project’s generation. The deal is subject to closing conditions, including DOE approval.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">ABB</span> agreed to invest approximately $20 million as part of a $35 million financial round, for a substantial minority stake in California-based GreenVolts, a provider of turnkey concentrating PV (CPV) systems. Through the investment ABB gains access to proprietary CPV technology in addition to its current capabilities in solar thermal and conventional PV power plants. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">First Wind</span> obtained $210 million in financing for the company’s subsidiary, <span class="boldred">Palouse Wind</span>, the owner of the 105-MW Palouse wind project located in northern Whitman County, Wash. As part of the financing, Palouse Wind closed an approximate $170 million construction and term facility loan, and letters of credit of up to $40 million. KeyBank served as the joint lead arranger and administrative agent, and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, CoBank ACB, and Banco Santander served as joint lead arrangers. The project will feature 58 Vestas 1.8-MW wind turbines with a generating capacity of about 105 MW of electricity. Avista will purchase the output. First Wind says Palouse will be the first wind project built in Avista’s service territory. It’s expected to be operational before the end of 2012.</p>
<h4>T&amp;D</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Princeton Power Systems</span> (PPS) announced the first planned installation of its bi-directional HVDC transformer. The transformer will function as a power management device, distributing power between two or more remote locations in Alaska when it’s installed in early 2012. The transformer has a power capacity rating of 1 MW and can be installed in parallel for higher power levels. Princeton Power Systems says that with the technology’s ability to function over great distances, the transformer will be useful for sending power over large bodies of water, or rough terrain like that in Alaska.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Long Island Power Authority</span> (LIPA) selected <span class="boldred">PSEG Long Island</span> to manage LIPA’s electric transmission and distribution system. Under the agreement, PSEG Long Island will be responsible for managing electric T&amp;D operations and customer services, as well as LIPA’s 18-percent ownership of Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear station in upstate New York, and related functions. <span class="boldred">Lockheed Martin</span>, a subcontractor to PSEG Long Island, will provide services related to transition management, information technology, corporate business, energy efficiency and other issues. As part of the management contract, PSEG Long Island will be expected to develop and implement a number of operational improvements to provide safe and reliable service, increase customer satisfaction, and manage the utility’s operational and maintenance costs.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Fluor</span> signed a memorandum of understanding with <span class="boldred">Plains and Eastern Clean Line</span> to provide development support and preliminary engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the proposed Plains &amp; Eastern Clean Line project, an 800-mile, 3,500 MW, HVDC transmission line from Oklahoma to Tennessee, currently in the development and permitting stages. As part of Fluor’s MOU with Clean Line, Fluor and subcontractor Pike Electric will provide initial permitting and development support services. After the project has received all permits and regulatory and financial approvals, Fluor and Pike will provide full EPC services. It could begin commercial operations as early as 2017. </p>
<h4>Smart Grid</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Western Electricity Coordinating Council</span> (WECC) selected <span class="boldred">Alstom Grid</span> to supply smart grid synchrophasor software applications for its Western Interconnection SynchroPhasor Program (WISP). Alstom Grid will provide wide-area monitoring technologies for phasor display and historical archiving. The WISP efforts are already underway and the project is scheduled to be completed in March 2013.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Mountain Parks Electric</span> (MPEI) awarded a contract to <span class="boldred">Open Systems International</span> (OSI) to provide a new SCADA and distribution management system. In a second phase of this project, MPEI expects to implement advanced distribution management system functionalities, including electronic mapping, distribution power flow and volt/VAR control. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">United Energy</span> (UE) and <span class="boldred">Multinet Gas</span> (MG) contracted <span class="boldred">Telvent</span> to replace their current SCADA systems with a multi-utility single platform for managing their electricity and gas distribution networks. UE and MG hope the integrated data collection will provide real-time data to improve daily operations.</p>
<h4>Generation</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Juhl Wind</span> began commercial operations at the $22 million, 10-MW Valley View wind farm located near the company’s headquarters in Chandler, Minn. The facility uses five Gamesa G87 wind turbines to generate power for sale to Xcel Energy through a long-term agreement. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">SunPower</span> and <span class="boldred">NRG</span> started construction of the 250-MW California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) project in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. The companies say the project is one of the largest central-station PV plants in the world. The facility uses the SunPower T0 Tracker with SunPower solar panels and pre-manufactured system cabling. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Kiewit Power Constructors</span> and <span class="boldred">Sargent &amp; Lundy</span> awarded a contract to <span class="boldred">Hitachi Power Systems America</span> to supply air pollution controls equipment for Unit 1 and Unit 2 at Kansas City Power &amp; Light’s La Cygne generating station. The contract includes wet flue gas desulfurization systems, fabric filters, mercury control systems and appurtenant systems for both Unit 1 (815 MW) and Unit 2 (715 MW), and low NOx burners, over-fire air equipment, and a selective catalytic reduction system for Unit 2.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">KGRA</span> and <span class="boldred">Appalachian Midstream Services</span>, a subsidiary of <span class="boldred">Chesapeake Energy</span>, agreed to build and install a customized 2-MW waste heat-to-power system. Chesapeake will work with KGRA’s subsidiary, Liberty WHR Partners, to install the alternative energy project at one of its Marcellus Shale gas gathering compression facilities in Bradford County, Penn. KGRA’s system will convert waste heat from a series of compressor engines into retail grade electricity. The power can be used on site or sold back into the grid by KGRA. KGRA will begin installation as early as the first quarter of 2012.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">GE</span> signed contracts totaling almost $300 million with the <span class="boldred">Saudi Electricity Co. </span>(SEC) to supply 13 gas turbines and associated services for the expansion of six power plants at various locations across the country. The expansions will add nearly 800 MW of power to the Saudi grid by the summer of 2013, in time to support peak electricity demands and reduce the risk of blackouts. In addition to supplying 13 Frame 7EA gas turbines and associated generators for the plant expansions, GE will provide technical advisory services and performance testing. The turbines will be manufactured in GE’s factory in Greenville, S.C. Commercial operation is scheduled to begin in May 2013.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Gemma Renewable Power </span>(GRP) entered a $16.6 million EPC contract with <span class="boldred">Southern Sky Renewable Energy Canton</span> to design and build a 5.7-MW (DC) PV facility located on a closed capped landfill in Canton, Mass. Completion is scheduled for the summer of 2012.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">FirstEnergy Solutions</span> signed a long-term agreement to purchase the output from the 20-MW <span class="boldred">Maryland Solar Farm</span>, a $70-million facility planned for Hagerstown, Md. Located on 250 acres of state-owned correctional facility land, the project is expected to be the largest solar facility in Maryland and among the largest on the East Coast. FirstEnergy Solutions will purchase the project’s output for 20 years, and will obtain the renewable energy credits produced. The project is expected to be operational in 2013. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">DTE Biomass Energy</span> started operating a 3.2-MW landfill gas-to-energy facility at the Smith’s Creek landfill in Kimball Township in Michigan. The landfill operates one of the first commercial-scale septage injection landfill gas systems in the United States, whereby material extracted from septic tanks is applied to the landfill to speed the decomposition of organic waste.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">NRG</span> and <span class="boldred">New Meadowlands Stadium</span> announced a new sponsorship agreement to bring solar power to MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Jets and New York Football Giants. In addition, NRG will provide all of the additional electricity for the 82,500-seat stadium starting in June 2012. The solar power system, consisting of approximately 1,500 individual panels manufactured by <span class="boldred">Atlantis Energy Systems</span> of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., will be able to generate nearly 25 times the amount of electricity needed to power the stadium’s integrated LED lighting and display system. The panels will be assembled into 52 modules that will be raised to the top level of the stadium and bolted into a steel superstructure that will also provide shelter from rain and snow. </p>
<h4>EVs &amp; Storage</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Cadeville Gas Storage</span> executed a 10-year agreement with <span class="boldred">Shell Energy North America</span> for Cadeville to construct a depleted reservoir storage facility in Ouachita Parish, La., near the Perryville-Delhi Hub in northeast Louisiana. The storage facility is expected to be in service in 2013 and is designed to have approximately 17.0 BCF of working gas capacity. </p>
<p>The <span class="boldred">Georgia Institute of Technology</span> and <span class="boldred">Recharge Solutions International</span> (RSI) kicked off a pilot project that demonstrated the newly installed RSI Level 2 220-volt electric vehicle (EV) charging system and 110-volt electric fleet charging system. Level 2 chargers will be available to the university’s faculty, students and visitors. Users can register for short- or long-term charging and pay by credit card on an hourly or monthly basis. The fleet charging system will allow the university to monitor the usage and costs of its present electric vehicle fleet.</p>
<p>The <span class="boldred">Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection</span> announced a $1 million grant award to help develop electric vehicle infrastructure on the Pennsylvania turnpike. The grant recipient, <span class="boldred">Car Charging Group</span>, will install charging stations at 17 turnpike service plazas. Level 2 charging stations, which can charge a car in roughly four hours, and Level 3 stations, which can charge a car in about 20 minutes, will be installed at the service plazas in three phases. The first phase of the work will be incorporated into ongoing service-plaza renovations between Harrisburg and New Jersey. Later phases will involve service plazas between Harrisburg and Ohio, and then along the Northeastern Extension. The project is expected to be completed in June 2013. The Turnpike Commission also has committed up to $500,000 in electric upgrades at the plazas to provide the charging stations with the necessary voltage. The DEP grant is provided through the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program, which is funded by a portion of the gross utilities receipts tax. </p>
<h4>Energy Services</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Science Applications International Corp. </span>(SAIC) was awarded the funding for the next two years of its contract with the <span class="boldred">Hawaii Public Utilities Commission</span> (PUC) to continue as the program administrator for the Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program. SAIC has served in this capacity since March 2009. The two-year performance contract, valued at more than $66 million, may be extended beyond 2013 for an additional three-year period. </p>
<h4>Metering</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Delaware County Electric Cooperative</span> (DCEC) selected <span class="boldred">Landis+Gyr</span> to install a Gridstream PLC network for advanced metering across its distribution system. The Gridstream network will enable the utility to install two-way load control devices, report outages on a system-wide basis, and provide information to consumers through a web portal and in-home displays. The utility will also be working on a pilot project with the <span class="boldred">Electric Power Research Institute</span> (EPRI) to demonstrate the efficiency of hybrid electric appliances. </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Oklahoma Gas and Electric</span> (OGE) selected <span class="boldred">Silver Spring Networks’s</span> demand response solution to expand OGE’s peak-reduction programs to all customers in its service territory. OGE hopes its demand response program and integration of wind power will allow the company to achieve its goal of avoiding building fossil-fueled generation plants until at least 2020. </p>
<h4>People</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Mona E. Dajani</span> joined <span class="boldred">Baker &amp; McKenzie</span> as a partner in its Chicago office. Ms. Dajani most recently practiced with SNR Denton, and earlier in her career she worked at Kirkland &amp; Ellis.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/td-grid">T&amp;D Grid</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/vendor-neutral">Vendor Neutral</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
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<a href="/tags/abb">ABB</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/acb">ACB</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/agua-caliente">Agua Caliente</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom">Alstom</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom-grid">Alstom Grid</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-transmission">American Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-transmission-co">American Transmission Co.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/appalachian-midstream-services">Appalachian Midstream Services</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/aps">APS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arizona-public-service-co">Arizona Public Service Co.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/atc">ATC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/atlantis-energy-systems">Atlantis Energy Systems</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/avista">Avista</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/banco-santander">Banco Santander</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bc">BC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/biomass">Biomass</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cadeville-gas-storage">Cadeville Gas Storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/car-charging-group">Car Charging Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cec">CEC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chesapeake-energy">Chesapeake Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/citi">Citi</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cobank">CoBank</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/commission">Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation-energy">Constellation Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cpv">CPV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/datc">DATC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dc">DC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/delaware-county-electric-cooperative">Delaware County Electric Cooperative</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/department-energy">Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dms">DMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/doe">DOE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dte-biomass-energy">DTE Biomass Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke-energy-renewables">Duke Energy Renewables</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research-institute">Electric Power Research Institute</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/emeter">eMeter</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/entergy-wholesale-commodities">Entergy Wholesale Commodities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epc">EPC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a 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Power Systems America</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hvdc">HVDC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/infrastructure">Infrastructure</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/interconnection">Interconnection</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jcm-capital">JCM Capital</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/juhl-wind">Juhl Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/keybank">KeyBank</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/kgra">KGRA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/kiewit-power-constructors">Kiewit Power Constructors</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/landisgyr">Landis+Gyr</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lockheed-martin">Lockheed Martin</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/maryland-solar-farm">Maryland Solar Farm</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mdm">MDM</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/metlife">MetLife</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/midamerican-energy-holdings">MidAmerican Energy Holdings</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mountain-parks-electric">Mountain Parks Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/multinet-gas">Multinet Gas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/network">Network</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-jersey">New Jersey</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-meadowlands-stadium">New Meadowlands Stadium</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nextera">NextEra</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nextera-energy">NextEra Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nextera-energy-resources">NextEra Energy Resources</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/norddeutsche-landesbank-girozentrale">Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nrg-energy">NRG Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oem">OEM</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oklahoma-gas-and-electric">Oklahoma Gas and Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oneok-energy-marketing-co">ONEOK Energy Marketing Co.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/open-systems-international">Open Systems International</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ownenergy">OwnEnergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pacific-gas-and-electric">Pacific Gas and Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/palouse-wind">Palouse Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pathfinder-renewable-wind-energy">Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pennsylvania-department-environmental-protection">Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/plains-and-eastern-clean-line">Plains and Eastern Clean Line</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/princeton-power-systems">Princeton Power Systems</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pseg-long-island">PSEG Long Island</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pv">PV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/recharge-solutions-international">Recharge Solutions International</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/recurrent-energy">Recurrent Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable">Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable-energy">Renewable Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/rhode-island-state-energy-center">Rhode Island State Energy Center</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/saic">SAIC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/saudi-electricity-co">Saudi Electricity Co.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/scada">SCADA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/science-applications-international-corp-0">Science Applications International Corp.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shale-gas">Shale gas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shell-energy-north-america">Shell Energy North America</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/siemens">Siemens</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/silver-spring-networks-0">Silver Spring Networks</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar">Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar-panels">solar panels</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-sky-renewable-energy-canton">Southern Sky Renewable Energy Canton</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storage">storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sunpower">SunPower</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/technology">Technology</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/telvent">Telvent</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission">Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/us-department-energy">U.S. Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/united-energy">United Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/vestas">Vestas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wecc">WECC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/western-electricity-coordinating-council">Western Electricity Coordinating Council</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/xcel-energy">Xcel Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/zephyr-power">Zephyr Power</a> </div>
</div>
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000puradmin13427 at http://www.fortnightly.comOpen Access on Trialhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2011/12/open-access-trial
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The old rules don’t always fit with new commercial realities.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Glenn J. Berger and Cheryl Foley</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Commission Watch</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Glenn J. Berger</b> is a partner in the energy and infrastructure group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &amp; Flom LLP. <b>Cheryl Foley</b> is a counsel in the firm’s energy regulatory group.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - December 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>With billions in new investment needed to strengthen and expand the nation’s electric transmission grid over the next several decades, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is injecting market-based solutions into the planning, construction, and operation of new transmission lines. Among its initiatives are the elimination of barriers that might prevent new players from competing against incumbent utilities for the right to build, own and operate this new infrastructure, and to earn the various financial and rate incentives that might be on offer.</p>
<p>Yet FERC’s own policy could hinder these reforms.</p>
<p>That policy—the linchpin that underlies any attempt by FERC to relax rules to encourage grid expansion—is the hallowed requirement that transmission owners and operators must provide open-access transmission service to all eligible customers on a non-discriminatory basis. This doctrine of open access remains central to FERC’s legitimate authority under the Federal Power Act (FPA). Yet this very policy might be stifling some grid projects—especially those built by private generation developers.</p>
<p>These developers inhabit a different world from traditional load-serving utilities—one that demands a new way of doing business. Yet FERC is finding that establishing one set of rules to govern open-access transmission across the broad spectrum of incumbent utilities and new entrants might not prove either practical or consistent with the financial and commercial realities each group faces.</p>
<p>FERC thus confronts new questions in its move to market-based solutions: 1) who may have access to new transmission, when, and under what terms and conditions; 2) which entity might have an obligation to build needed new capacity and how that is to be financed; 3) how can new entrants participate in utility planning processes; and 4) how can FERC accommodate a lighter mode of regulation for certain entities who have no market power without running afoul of its FPA requirements to regulate in a nondiscriminatory basis.</p>
<p>It’s arguable that FERC itself has inadvertently created issues that have thwarted progress in this area.</p>
<p>During the last 30-plus years, the commission has shifted its philosophy. It has veered from its original focus of regulating by fiat, seeking uniformity, and demanding strict cost-of-service pricing as essential to its legislative mandate. Instead, FERC has concluded that a competitive market produces more efficient results than an artificial one, in which prices and structures are set by a federal agency. It has turned to market-based solutions as the foundation of a new regulatory regime.</p>
<p>Market-based solutions dominated FERC regulation over interstate natural gas transportation and wholesaling during the late 1970s and early 1980s, followed by market pricing and flexible regulation for new interstate gas pipeline projects. In the 1990s, similar changes began to affect the electric industry when FERC permitted sellers to charge negotiated rates for wholesale sales of electric power. Today, the wholesale electric sales market depends on a system of market-based pricing that has encouraged the development of new sources of generation, has promulgated a vast network of market-efficient interregional trading, and has been the root cause of the formation of regional transmission organizations in many areas of the country.</p>
<p>The last vestiges of the old fiat-based regime are now under attack. Open access itself appears to be on trial, as FERC seeks to develop the new grid infrastructure it deems critical to national energy policy, and to the renewable energy resources it is trying to promote.<sup>1</sup></p>
<h4>Incumbents vs. New Entrants</h4>
<p>With the goal of increasing the nation’s transmission capability, FERC has encouraged new entrants to compete with incumbent utilities to construct and operate new transmission lines. Challenging public utilities that, until recently, have been vertically integrated in production, transmission, distribution and retail electric sales operations in state-franchised service territories (the “incumbents”), these newcomers to the transmission business (“independents”) are entities with no franchised utility service territory and often with no other utility business.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, independents have struggled to break down traditional monopoly barriers to entry. They’ve fought to establish for themselves rights to eminent domain. They’ve developed innovative ways to finance projects without the backstop of captive customers to pay all costs. They have also had to overcome natural advantages that incumbents enjoy, such as rights of first refusal to construct new transmission within their franchised service territories. Although independents have enjoyed some limited measure of success, it would be a stretch to say that the market for new transmission is fully competitive at this point in terms of barriers to entry.</p>
<p>New entrants come in many varieties. At times an independent might be the developer of a new source of generation that needs to be connected to the existing grid through a new transmission line, sometimes called a “generator lead line,” that is developed, owned and operated by the independent solely to support its generation project. Other times, a new entrant’s sole interest is in owning and operating transmission as a stand-alone business.</p>
<p>In terms of pricing, where the independent transmission developer can show that it has no market power, FERC has approved the proposed project as a merchant transmission line and authorized the independent owner to charge negotiated rates for transmission services through the line. In contrast, an incumbent is only permitted to charge regulated, cost-based rates.</p>
<p>An independent transmission owner may choose to charge cost-of-service rates, similar to what is required of incumbent transmission providers. For such cost-based lines, FERC has developed a program of financial incentives to encourage new transmission development.<sup>2</sup> FERC has authorized, among other things, higher rates of return, recovery of construction work in progress, use of hypothetical capital structures, recovery of abandonment costs, establishment of regulatory assets to ensure future cost recovery, formula rates to track operating costs from year to year, and other case-specific requests by transmission developers. As expected, these incentives have attracted a large number of potential investors in new transmission, many of which are incumbent electric utilities and many of which are new entrants.</p>
<h4>Planning and Financing</h4>
<p>Whereas many projects have been proposed, surprisingly few new long-line, high-voltage transmission lines have actually been built, and most of those that have been successful are somewhat traditional utility-type projects that address economic and reliability concerns (such as Trans Bay Cable, a product of the California Independent System Operator’s planning process)<sup>3</sup> or increase interconnectivity between different regions of the country (for example, the Cross Sound Cable and Neptune projects).<sup>4</sup> Many new transmission lines—particularly those proposed by independents that are designed to connect new sources of electric generation to the grid—continue to be bogged down in regulatory, financial, siting and environmental hurdles. So FERC has found over the last several years that attracting incumbent and independent investors with a series of financial incentives is only the first step to achieving its goal of encouraging successful new transmission construction.</p>
<p>Among other things, FERC also has focused on the need for an open and coordinated planning process within and between regions of the country for new transmission projects. In Order Nos. 890, et seq., FERC required transmission providers to publicly file their planning processes, and in July 2011 FERC issued Order No. 1000, which, for the first time, required each electric planning region in the U.S. to develop a region-wide transmission plan, to coordinate and share planning information with interconnected regions, and to develop cost allocation methodologies for the new facilities to be constructed under those plans.<sup>5</sup> The order explicitly requires transmission providers, including independent system operators and regional transmission organizations, to include independent transmission developers and their proposed projects as an integral part of the planning process. In a controversial move, Order No. 1000 also eliminated, with some exceptions, federal rights of first refusal in FERC-jurisdictional tariffs and agreements that had given priority to incumbent transmission providers to build new transmission within their franchised territories. With the adoption of Order No. 1000, FERC hopes to improve the flow of information among market participants and policymakers, making benefits and policy goals more transparent in the regional or interregional plans, and thus potentially reducing local siting concerns and cost allocation disputes within and between regions.</p>
<p>FERC has also taken steps to address the ability of transmission customers to gain rights to transmission service over new lines, or, stated from a different perspective, the ability of independent transmission developers to enter into the long-term contracts with creditworthy and reliable customers that will allow them to finance a new line. Although nondiscriminatory access to transmission, as an essential facility, remains the centerpiece of FERC’s policy initiatives, FERC is finding that a rigid application of the open access rules developed initially for incumbents doesn’t always accommodate the practical and financial needs of an independent transmission developer. As FERC considers whether to loosen these requirements for independents, the commission is finding that it must test the edges of its legislative mandate to prevent “undue discrimination” in its regulated open access program with its desire to rely as much as possible on market solutions to grow the nation’s transmission infrastructure.</p>
<p>In pursuit of its open access policies, FERC had required transmission providers to develop processes designed to permit all parties to access transmission services in a non-discriminatory manner. Incumbent utilities and regional transmission organizations must all operate under open access transmission tariffs (OATTs) that include, inter alia, obligations to build new lines where necessary to serve demand and to interconnect new generation pursuant to interconnection queues, open season bidding procedures, and first-come, first-served requests for service.</p>
<p>When a new entrant proposes to develop a transmission line, there’s no existing OATT on which to rely in determining which customers have which rights. Whereas an independent transmission line must be backed by long-term service agreements with creditworthy and reliable customers in order to secure necessary financing, potential customers, particularly those who are developing new generation resources, must have access to the transmission facilities necessary to move their power to markets in order for their generation projects to be viable. This creates both a chicken-and-egg situation between the transmission developer and its potential customers and also a regulatory issue for FERC to ensure that access by customers is open and nondiscriminatory. Addressing this situation in the early 2000s, FERC required that the independent developer conduct an open season bid process, whereby it would offer all of the capacity on its line to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. There’s no one definition for an open season and each is designed individually, but all must be filed for after-the-fact approval by FERC.</p>
<p>Although FERC denied early requests for waiver of its open season requirement to allow developers to conduct bilateral negotiations with potential customers,<sup>6</sup> it was somewhat flexible in how it deemed the open season requirement to be met. In the case of Cross Sound Cable (CSC), for example, FERC held that where a new generation project to be transmitted through CSC was the winning bidder in a request for proposals (RFP) process sponsored by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), the RFP process satisfied the open season requirement. CSC was permitted to contract with LIPA for 100 percent of the capacity of the first phase of the new line.<sup>7</sup></p>
<p>In theory the open season concept appears to be a reasonable means of subscribing the capacity of a new transmission line. Actual practice has exposed several flaws that have proven the opposite. Many, if not all, of the open season procedures necessarily involve iterative rounds of bidding to reconcile the ultimate sizing and cost of the line with the bids that are submitted. Thus, the open season doesn’t easily accommodate the continual jockeying of sizing, costs, project timing and customer base inherent with the in-tandem planning needs of transmission and new generation. Nor does its one-size-fits-all approach permit bilateral resolution of other physical and financial considerations that might be individual to each participant in the process.</p>
<p>Recognizing that many open seasons weren’t producing viable projects, in 2009 FERC approved nearly identical proposals by new entrants Chinook Power Transmission and Zephyr Power Transmission to permit them to pre-subscribe up to 50 percent of their proposed new capacity through bilateral negotiations with so-called “anchor tenants,”8 with open seasons used to subscribe any remaining capacity. The anchor tenant process allows the transmission owner to work directly with a large customer so that the development needs of each can be closely coordinated and a transmission service agreement can be reached that reflects terms satisfactory to both sides. This transmission service agreement then becomes the backbone upon which the line can be financed, constructed, and placed into operation. After the anchor tenant contract is signed, other potential customers have the opportunity to bid for the remaining capacity in an open season, based on the same or similar pricing and terms that are in the anchor tenant contract. Because the first anchor tenant approval was granted only two years ago, there have been few examples to date to test whether this hybrid approach will work and whether the subsequent open season will be a practical solution.</p>
<p>After FERC indicated its willingness to deviate from its requirement to hold open seasons for all capacity, developers filed a series of requests for approval of other methods to allocate new transmission capacity. Several of these requests involve a new entrant transmission owner who is proposing to negotiate anchor tenant contracts with an affiliate or who is proposing to reserve capacity in the new line for use by one of its equity investors.9 These proposals usually involve circumstances where an entity or consortium of entities is attempting to develop new sources of generation jointly with the development of the new transmission capacity needed to transmit this power to market.</p>
<p>For example, the SunZia transmission project filed a request for a declaratory order permitting certain of its equity investors to have priority access to service on the line in proportion to their equity interest. FERC denied the request, finding the potential for undue discrimination against non-related parties too great.</p>
<p>In February 2011, SunZia re-filed its proposal to request that three of its equity investors be permitted to negotiate anchor tenant contracts for up to 50 percent of the capacity of the line, in line with the Chinook and Zephyr precedent. SunZia’s filing makes clear that the requested approval would allow unaffiliated equity investors to negotiate anchor tenant contracts with each other. In May 2011, FERC approved the proposed structure, finding that:</p>
<p>[A]lthough SW Power, ECP SunZia, and Shell WindEnergy are all co-investors in the Project, Shell WindEnergy is not an affiliate of either SW Power or ECP SunZia. That is, SW Power and ECP SunZia together and Shell WindEnergy are unaffiliated co-investors and are not affiliates in the same corporate family, which could raise concerns related to undue preference. Based on Petitioner’s explanation herein, we therefore find that SW Power and ECP SunZia (together) are hereby permitted to enter into anchor tenant agreements with Shell WindEnergy and vice versa.</p>
<h4>Generator Lead Lines</h4>
<p>Even with the additional flexibility granted in the new SunZia order with regard to the ability of co-investors to negotiate with each other’s affiliates, FERC has consistently denied a standard transmission developer the ability to provide any type of direct preference to its own affiliated entity or to an investor, <i>per se</i>. In contrast, for several years FERC has had no problem approving the construction, ownership, and operation by a generator of transmission facilities needed solely to connect that source of power to the grid, and several such facilities have been successfully completed. In developing this generator lead line policy, FERC has permitted a generator to build, own and operate transmission facilities solely for its own use,<sup>11</sup> with no requirement to hold an initial open season, and even, under limited circumstances, to reserve excess capacity in the line for future planned generation.<sup>12</sup> In a recent decision regarding the Alta Wind projects, FERC determined that where “transmission owners have specific, pre-existing generation expansion plans with milestones for construction of generation and have made material progress toward meeting those milestones, they may have firm priority rights on their transmission lines.”<sup>13 </sup></p>
<p>Confirming that the Alta Wind projects had qualified for priority access rights to the entire initial capacity of three new lines, FERC stated:</p>
<p>We find that Petitioners have shown the existence of specific, pre-existing plans, with definite dates and milestones, for phased development of generation that will ultimately employ the full capacity of Transmission Lines I, II, and III. . . . [In addition] we find that Petitioners have sufficiently demonstrated that there will be a future transfer of ownership interests in Transmission Lines I, II, and III to affiliates that are not currently owners of the lines but that are developing their own generation projects and will use the lines in the future.</p>
<p>The legal distinction between a generator lead line, where FERC allows the owner certain access priorities, and a “standard” transmission line to be built, owned and operated by entities whose owners or affiliates are trying (unsuccessfully in most instances) to preserve a preference in the capacity they’re financially backing is becoming increasingly blurred as FERC attempts to accommodate transmission proposals that reflect legitimate commercial and financial considerations. During a March 2011 technical conference FERC held to examine priority access issues, it was instructive that no participant could provide a legal definition that could distinguish between a generator lead line and an otherwise standard transmission line built to connect new generation sources. Some participants suggested that a generator lead line must have no load, must have a one-way flow, and must connect with and flow all power to the integrated transmission grid. However, this could easily apply to many standard transmission lines, and the physical operation of a line could change over time. Factors such as length or capacity of the line, or how many generators feed into it, also did not seem to sufficiently distinguish the two types of lines. Other participants proposed more subjective standards, such as the “underlying purpose” of the line, the “business model,” or the intent of the transmission owner to serve a public (rather than a private) purpose. At the end of the day, there was no commonly accepted set of factors that emerged to distinguish between a generator lead line and a standard transmission line, and yet two different sets of standards continue to govern how capacity may be allocated in each and how affiliates or equity investors may participate.<sup>15 </sup></p>
<p>Whereas generator lead lines are subject to different rules as to affiliate access to the line, they must follow open access requirements in other respects. Although FERC has generally exempted a generator lead line from a start-up requirement to operate under an OATT, it must file one if a third party ever requests service over the line in the future. The OATT includes an obligation on the part of the transmission owner to offer to the public excess capacity that may from time to time be unused and to build new facilities if the existing line doesn’t have sufficient capacity to meet a long-term, firm request for service. Generators whose transmission facilities are treated as generator lead lines argue that they shouldn’t be burdened with the very substantial administrative responsibilities of maintaining and operating under a full-blown OATT, <sup>16</sup> nor should they be required to provide transmission capacity to third parties that they require to serve their own future generation needs.<sup>17</sup> They argue that, as generators, they shouldn’t be required to expend their own credit and scarce capital to build new transmission facilities to serve competitor generators who could either build the necessary facilities themselves or, as a fallback, require the incumbent utility to provide the facilities under the utility’s OATT.</p>
<h4>Redefining Discrimination</h4>
<p>FERC’s challenge here and in the evolution of other aspects of its open season and capacity allocation policies is to balance its fear of promoting undue discrimination against unaffiliated third parties with the need to ensure that needed new transmission projects actually get built, or, at a minimum, that its policies aren’t the roadblocks that kill a project.</p>
<p>Parties have suggested that it isn’t undue discrimination, nor is it illegal under the Federal Power Act, for FERC to permit benefits or first-mover advantages to flow to those independent entities that financially commit to and support the development of needed new transmission. These benefits may include allowing affiliates to become anchor customers, allowing equity investors in a new transmission line to reserve future capacity on that line for the benefit of their affiliates, eliminating the obligation to build new capacity to serve future needs of third parties, permitting cost allocation mechanisms that reward those transmission customers whose initial contracts support the construction of a new line, and shifting other risks to future customers.</p>
<p>These suggestions would require FERC to discard the notion that the one-size-fits-all approach is necessary to avoid discrimination under the Federal Power Act and to adopt a set of rules and regulations for new entrants that embrace different treatment of different customers based on objective facts and designed to achieve important new additions to our transmission infrastructure.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>Endnotes:</h4>
<p>1. It’s also worthy of note that, although billions of dollars of new transmission investment are expected to be needed in the coming years, these costs appear to pale in relation to the projected savings in the energy and capacity markets and to the projected environmental benefits that will be made possible by an enhanced and more efficient transmission grid.</p>
<p>2. In order to be eligible for FERC’s incentives, A) the project must ensure reliability or reduce congestion, B) there must be a nexus between the requested incentives and the risks and challenges faced by the project, including demonstrating that the project isn’t “routine,” and C) FERC must find the level or type of the incentives just and reasonable. Promoting Transmission Inv. Through Pricing Reform, Order No. 679, FERC Stats. &amp; Regs. ¶ 31,222 (2006), order on reh’g, Order No. 679-A, FERC Stats. &amp; Regs. ¶ 31,236, order on reh’g, Order No. 679-B, 119 FERC ¶ 61,062 (2007) (codified at 18 C.F.R. §§ 35.34-35). Also see, for example, Desert Southwest Power, LLC, 135 FERC ¶ 61,143 (2011).</p>
<p>3. TransBay Cable, LLC, 112 FERC ¶ 61,095 (2005).</p>
<p>4. TransÉnergie U.S., LTD, 91 FERC ¶ 61,230 (2000), Neptune Reg’l Transmission Sys., LLC, 96 FERC ¶ 61,147 (2001). It’s interesting to note that each of these successful transmission projects built by independents were primarily underwater cables that didn’t face significant state and local right-of-way problems.</p>
<p>5. Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by Transmission Owning and Operating Pub. Utils., Order No. 1000, 136 FERC ¶ 61,051 (2011) (to be codified at 18 C.F.R. pt. 35.28).</p>
<p>6. Neptune Reg’l Transmission Sys., LLC, 96 FERC ¶ 61,147 at P 9.</p>
<p>7. TransÉnergie U.S., LTD, 93 FERC ¶ 61,289 (2000).</p>
<p>8. See, Chinook Power Transmission, LLC and Zephyr Power Transmission, LLC, 126 FERC ¶ 61,134 (2009); also see, Northeast Utilities Service Company and NSTAR Electric Company, 127 FERC 61,179, reh’g denied, 129 FERC ¶ 61,279 (2009), where FERC permitted 100 percent of the firm capacity of a proposed new line to be subscribed by one customer.</p>
<p>9. SunZia Transmission, LLC, 131 FERC ¶ 61,162 (2010) and Grasslands Renewable Energy LLC, 133 FERC ¶ 61,225 (2010).</p>
<p>10. SunZia Transmission, LLC, 135 FERC ¶ 61,169 at P 38 (2011).</p>
<p>11. FERC’s policy has allowed an affiliate of the generator to initially build and own the transmission line, provided that ultimate ownership isn’t retained by the affiliate, but is transferred to the generator, upon start of commercial operation.</p>
<p>12. See, PSEG Energy Res. &amp; Trade, Cross Hudson LLC, 123 FERC ¶ 61,001 at P 26 (2008) (“PSEG/Cross Hudson”), reh’g denied, 128 FERC ¶ 61,212 (2009); Peetz Logan Interconnect, LLC, 122 FERC ¶ 61,086 (2008); Entergy Miss. and Attala Transmission, LLC, 112 FERC ¶ 61,228 (2005); NewCorp Res. Elec. Coop., Inc., 123 FERC ¶ 61,120 (2008); Golden Spread Elec. Coop., Inc., 127 FERC ¶ 61,248 (2009); Golden Spread Elec. Coop., Inc., 106 FERC ¶ 61,151 (2004).</p>
<p>13. Alta Wind I, LLC, 134 FERC ¶ 61,109 at P 16 (2011).</p>
<p>14. Id. at PP 17-18.</p>
<p>15. Transcript of Technical Conference at 142-48, Priority Rights to New Participant-Funded Transmission, Docket No. AD11-11 (Mar. 15, 2011) (“Technical Conference”). Also see Comments of Cedar Creek Wind Energy, LLC (May 5, 2011).</p>
<p>16. Transcript of Technical Conference at 109-16, 126, 129-30. Although generators have tried to reduce the burdens of filing and administering a full-blown OATT, FERC has rejected these efforts and required full compliance with pro forma OATT provisions in most cases. See, for example, Desert Generation &amp; Transmission Coop., Inc., 134 FERC ¶ 61,134 (2011). See also, “Deal Friction,” by Bruce W. Radford, Public Utilities Fortnightly, April 2011, p. 20, noting complaints at the conference from sponsors of generator lead lines about compliance with open access rules, and suggesting that green energy developers might be better off without open access.</p>
<p>17. Transcript of Technical Conference at 122-23, 127, 136-40.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/ferc">FERC</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/transmission">Transmission</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/commission-watch">Commission Watch</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1112/images/1112-CW.jpg" width="1232" height="1500" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/alta-wind">Alta Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/california-independent-system-operator">California Independent System Operator</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chinook">Chinook</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chinook-power-transmission">Chinook Power Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/commission">Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cost">Cost</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cost-allocation">cost allocation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cross-sound-cable">Cross Sound Cable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/csc">CSC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/entergy">Entergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/federal-energy-regulatory-commission">Federal Energy Regulatory Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/federal-energy-regulatory-commission-ferc">Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/federal-power-act">Federal Power Act</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ferc">FERC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/financing">Financing</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fpa">FPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/grasslands-renewable-energy">Grasslands Renewable Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/interconnection-queues">interconnection queues</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/market-based-solutions">Market-based solutions</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/neptune">Neptune</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/northeast-utilities">Northeast Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oatt">OATT</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/open-access">Open access</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/order-1000">Order 1000</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/order-no-1000">Order No. 1000</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable">Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable-energy">Renewable Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shell">Shell</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sunzia">SunZia</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/trans-bay-cable">Trans Bay Cable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission">Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission-lines">Transmission Lines</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission-planning">Transmission Planning</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/zephyr-power">Zephyr Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/zephyr-power-transmission">Zephyr Power Transmission</a> </div>
</div>
Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0000puradmin13493 at http://www.fortnightly.comKiller Apphttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2011/11/killer-app
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Distribution management at the smart grid frontier.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Alyssa Danigelis</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Technology Corridor</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Alyssa Danigelis</b> is a <i>Fortnightly</i> contributor based in Boulder, Colo. She also writes for <i>Discovery News</i>. Follow her on Twitter @adanigelis.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - November 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1111-TCpic2.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="Intelligent substation controls provide critical system data to an advanced distribution management system. (Photo courtesy Efacec ACS.)" title="Intelligent substation controls provide critical system data to an advanced distribution management system. (Photo courtesy Efacec ACS.)" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1111-TCpic3.jpg" width="1500" height="1457" alt="Intelligent substation controls provide critical system data to an advanced distribution management system. (Photo courtesy Efacec ACS.)" title="Intelligent substation controls provide critical system data to an advanced distribution management system. (Photo courtesy Efacec ACS.)" /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1111-TCpic1.jpg" width="1197" height="1500" alt="Enhanced visualization tools for ADMS include high resolution digital mapboard displays." title="Enhanced visualization tools for ADMS include high resolution digital mapboard displays." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The computer bank at Oklahoma Gas &amp; Electric isn’t quite HAL from <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>, but it promises to change everything. Equipment racks loaded with 100 computer servers are running the software for a new distribution management system (DMS). The system is still in testing, but OG&amp;E hopes that once it’s deployed, the DMS (developed by ABB Ventyx) will be able to translate data transmitted wirelessly from field equipment into timely, useful information for the control room. It will give the utility’s operators the ability to look at the entire system’s configuration when performing fault isolation and restoration processes. It will add intelligence, considering the risks of overload before closing switches. And it will automatically execute a volt-VAR (volt-ampere reactive) optimization routine on a wide scale.</p>
<p>Bringing these capabilities all into one interconnected system represents a substantial advancement in smart grid infrastructure. But when the OG&amp;E project began, planners didn’t see it as being particularly revolutionary. “We were under the impression that more companies had this [type of system] already,” says Scott Milanowski, OG&amp;E’s director of grid intelligence. “We’re finding out that we were a little more on the leading edge than we had initially realized.”</p>
<p>The DMS implementation is being driven by the utility’s corporate strategy to defer the need to build any new fossil power plants until after 2020. With a growing market of just under 800,000 customers across Oklahoma and a small part of Arkansas, OG&amp;E is tackling an ambitious goal. Although public attention has tended to focus on the sexier aspects of OG&amp;E’s strategy, such as its plan to dramatically increase reliance on wind power, the utility’s DMS represents a major milestone in the development of smart grid infrastructure—and a harbinger of what’s to come for the industry.</p>
<h4>Smart Grid’s Changing Narrative</h4>
<p>Over the past year, excitement about the smart grid seems to have shifted somewhat, away from customer-facing technologies like advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and home energy management, and toward utility-centric distribution automation systems. Advanced DMS (ADMS) has become the hot new acronym in vendors’ marketing materials, and a recurring buzzword in companies’ presentations at trade shows. Many utilities, like OG&amp;E, seem to have turned their focus away from smart meter rollouts and zeroed in on systems that optimize their distribution processes. ADMS is the core technology that can unite the various smart grid systems that have grabbed headlines in recent years, allowing utilities to start realizing benefits as soon as the technology is installed.</p>
<p>The advantages of a new distribution management system are clear for OG&amp;E, but the challenge for many utilities is that ADMS represents a new technology that begs definition. Discussions about ADMS today easily wend into hyper-technical territory, or float into an abstract cloud that can make it difficult to understand what ADMS is supposed to do. Otherwise helpful analogies falter. Is it a heart? A brain? A backbone?</p>
<p>It’s actually a combination of all three.</p>
<p>Ken Geisler, vice president of business and product strategy in the smart grid division at Siemens, observes that advanced DMS can be confusing for many utilities. “Their business is to operate a utility, it’s not to be IT experts,” he says. But the need for an ADMS is becoming inevitable as companies invest in smart grid systems.</p>
<p>“There are so many external requirements that you’re going to have to deal with,” Geisler says. “An advanced distribution management system supports a broad variety of solution requirements.”</p>
<p>But like the word “smart” in smart grid, the definition of “advanced” DMS can be relative. Some vendors are developing systems that fully integrate distributed automation, asset management, smart metering, and eventually distributed energy resources, such as rooftop photovoltaics and electric vehicles. Others have simply decided to start calling their outage management systems “DMS.”</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the ADMS of the future will operate in real time and across multiple divisions within a utility. The stronger the DMS, the better its ability to process large amounts of data from different devices and systems. Success hinges on having the right level of integration and functionality, as well as collaboration among suppliers, integrators, and utilities. And of course, utilities will need to bring all of that to a scale that serves their entire systems.</p>
<p>The full magnitude of this effort is illustrated in an anecdote related by Avnaesh Jayantilal, global DMS activity director at Alstom. He won’t name any names, but recalls visiting a utility control room recently. Although operators worked in a beautiful space, he says, the utility used archaic technology: two-story paper maps accessible with a tall library ladder. Color-coded pins designated outages and trucks. Meanwhile, outside the control room, the people planning the grid had sophisticated software tools at their fingertips.</p>
<p>Such disparities are changing. Wade Malcolm, global lead for Accenture’s smart grid services operational technology practice, says he’s seeing significant global investment in hardware, such as upgrades to switchgear, fault detection, and protection for feeders and other elements of circuits. He notes that early distribution management systems were offshoots of SCADA and OMS. But as utilities invest in smarter systems, they’re discovering their legacy processes don’t necessarily work together efficiently. Products rooted in outage management focused on data collection and management, while those with SCADA heritage tended to be good at creating a static view of the network, managing the configurations, and driving electronic map boards and diagrams, Malcolm says.</p>
<p>Over time, distribution operators acquired better basic tools to measure and monitor what’s happening in certain parts of the grid, according to Jayantilal. “But they didn’t have advanced tools that would understand where the power was flowing, or how to optimize the grid,” he says.</p>
<p>In recent years, distribution operators gained SCADA tools, real-time planning tools for analytics, as well as volt-VAR control, fault location and isolation, and service restoration. Although some vendors call the union of those tools “ADMS,” Jayantilal says the most advanced systems allow utilities to track outages and optimize the grid simultaneously. Like many smart grid experts, Jayantilal equates “advanced” with “integrated”; Alstom calls its advanced DMS an integrated distribution management system or “IDMS.” But Siemens’ Geisler warns that the term can be misleading.</p>
<p>“The word ‘integration’ makes it sound straightforward,” he says. “Generally it’s not.”</p>
<h4>One Step at a Time</h4>
<p>OG&amp;E’s DMS is part of a multi-phase smart grid project. The first two phases cover a three-year period Milanowski says the utility is calling its “DOE phase” for the $130 million Department of Energy investment grant the company was awarded in 2009. During that phase, OG&amp;E aims to complete all of the AMI, the whole communication network, back office systems, and DMS. The third phase is a five-year span during which the utility plans to continue putting DA devices on the distribution system: reclosers, capacitor controllers, and communicating faulted circuit indicators—all subject to regulatory approval first.</p>
<p>OG&amp;E’s DMS will communicate wirelessly with devices on the distribution network—ones there now, and any added during the second phase. Status information, alarms, and measurement data are sent from the devices to the DMS, which can process the information and in turn control the devices either through an operator or automatically at the operator’s discretion. “Integration is a challenge,” Milanowski says. “It’s something we’re doing, but this system doesn’t sit in a vacuum.”</p>
<p>With DMS, the entire distribution system is modeled with data that’s usually obtained from geospatial information systems (GIS) before it’s brought into the control center. A limited version of OG&amp;E’s GIS model has been exported to the DMS, and ABB Ventyx’s optimization algorithm is working on the distribution feeder model, enabling the utility to lower the voltage at peak times.</p>
<p>“They are taking it step by step, which is the logical thing to do,” says Tim Taylor, an industry solutions executive with ABB Ventyx. OG&amp;E has already done several pilot installations in advance of the DMS, putting distribution automation, automated switching, and fault detection-isolation-restoration capabilities on half a dozen circuits to familiarize workers with the system.</p>
<p>“Our operators were able to get some comfort with automated switching, with reclosers opening and closing by themselves without the operators being involved,” Milanowski says. “Our control center got a degree of comfort with automation before we proposed putting the DMS in.”</p>
<p>OG&amp;E sees reducing outage minutes as a potential societal benefit that might far exceed the direct savings the utility calculates for itself. The company projects that putting automated reclosers on a circuit can reduce interruption minutes by approximately 60 percent on that circuit, Milanowski says. Over the course of its eight-year plan, the utility wants to install automated switching on its worst performing circuits.</p>
<p>If the utility deploys automated switching on 20 of its circuits, it anticipates potentially reducing its system average interruption duration (SAIDI) by 30 percent, Milanowski says. “With DMS, we’re expecting to be able to fix the problem a little faster because we can find it faster.”</p>
<h4>Directing the Data Firehose</h4>
<p>The potential of ADMS technology has become more evident in the past year, as record-breaking weather events and natural disasters have pummeled utilities in many parts of the country. In late August, for example, Hurricane Irene ripped through the territory of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which serves 1.1 million residential and commercial customers on the highly urbanized New York island. At its height, the outage left half a million customers without power. Not long after the area had recovered, LIPA announced plans to invest in new distribution management technology from Efacec ACS, as part of its smart grid roadmap.</p>
<p>“We are building a new infrastructure, and installing and developing several new systems that are supposed to work together in an integrated way,” says Predrag Vujovic, LIPA’s director of transmission and distribution planning. Efacec ACS’s system, which LIPA plans to deploy in several phases over the next year, includes applications for power optimization and self-healing feeders, real-time storm damage and assessment management, as well as a distribution system simulator for research and analysis at a local university.</p>
<p>“This is a lot of technology, with pilots and phased implementation,” says Gary Ockwell, chief technology officer for Efacec ACS. “You need a planned approach, and you need an architecture that can expand and take the technology.” For LIPA, that means having a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that can readily support integration.</p>
<p>ADMS has its fingers in everything, so maintaining accuracy for the network on a daily basis is paramount. Without that, any solutions introduced won’t be accurate either. A key stumbling block is that an ADMS must be able to handle a barrage of data from disparate systems, including both non-urgent and urgent data. Failure to handle mission-critical data appropriately can be deadly—<i>i.e.</i>, opening or closing the wrong switch at the wrong time could electrocute a worker in the field, or cut power in ways that create hazards for customers. “We’re talking about doing things—bang!—right away,” Geisler says. “It’s got to be done safely, efficiently, and it’s got to be done in such a way that you always track what you did.”</p>
<p>On Long Island, LIPA is investing in tools and processes to keep its ADMS data model synchronized with industry standards. “The whole concept is based on an assumption that [with] all data—especially when we’re installing new systems and replacing an old system with a new system—we’ll use the same model,” Vujovic says. Within that data model, consistency reigns. For example, transformers will have the same name structure throughout the system, linking all the data associated with it, such as loads and maintenance activity. The naming convention is expected to increase accuracy while reducing the cost of integration.</p>
<p>But as promising as advanced distribution management systems are in terms of providing greater distribution network control capabilities, they often remain grid-operation centric. “They’re not typically designed to manage things like demand-response, meter information, home area management, or asset management,” says Accenture’s Malcolm. This creates a challenge as utilities seek to provide customers with more timely and detailed information about things like outage restoration. LIPA hopes that its focus on a consistent and standards-compliant data model will facilitate better coordination among its operation, customer relations, maintenance, and planning groups, especially when the next major storm hits.</p>
<p>“It’s all about understanding close to real-time what’s going on, and having enough time to adjust and optimize well ahead of a projected event,” Vujovic says.</p>
<h4>Being Kind to the Grid</h4>
<p>Effective demand reduction and grid optimization are promising ADMS features. In the past, on summer days so hot that the pavement would seem to melt, utilities would see an overload on a circuit and transfer part of that circuit to an adjacent one nearby. But on such days all circuits might be near their peak capacity, so this practice could create a domino effect of overloads.</p>
<p>“We used to call it ‘chasing the amps around the system’ during those hottest days of the year,” says Brad Williams, vice president of products management for Oracle Utilities. Earlier in his career, Williams directed T&amp;D asset management at PacifiCorp.</p>
<p>Instead of chasing amps, Williams says ADMS capabilities will allow utilities to simulate the optimal solution with the fewest number of switching operations needed to relieve an overload condition. “In some cases where there’s remote-controlled switchgear, we actually can carry it out automatically just by pushing a button,” he says.</p>
<p>The trick is using information technology to tie grid operations together quickly, efficiently, and effectively in real time, Geisler says. This can involve highly granular data, down to the level of individual transformers and circuits. On that hot summer day, for example, a transformer can be overloaded to about 150 percent of its design rating without blowing it up. After two hours, the load has come down, but the overload can have lasting consequences for equipment on the system. “I’m out of trouble, but I’ve just aged that transformer beyond its normal wear,” Geisler says. “That information is useful.” A truly advanced DMS would identify what’s happened to that particular transformer and push the information to both the utility’s maintenance centers and asset centers. The maintenance schedule for that piece of equipment would change accordingly. After the transformer is checked and an asset calculation done, it might become apparent that the temporary overload accelerated its degradation, and that information gets communicated to the operations side.</p>
<p>“Maybe we want to go back through the operations guys and tell them, ‘You need to de-rate this particular transformer, and we’re going to move it up in the queue for replacement,’” Geisler says. “That analysis and that information could be integrated. It could happen automatically.”</p>
<p>Capabilities at this level of granularity also can serve to raise system efficiency and reduce load overall. In advance of its full DMS rollout, OG&amp;E installed ABB’s volt-VAR control module. The initial plan is to put volt-VAR optimization on 400 circuits with the goal of achieving a 75-MW demand reduction. In summer 2010, OG&amp;E tested the system and saw demand fall by between 0.8 percent and 2.4 percent, depending on the circuit. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you add it up, we’ve reached our goal,” Milanowski says, citing a 200-kW reduction on average per circuit. Multiply that times 400 circuits and the result is 80 MW.</p>
<p>“With the operational savings of smart grid combined with the deferred capital investment of the power plant that we were able to model through this demand reduction, it really made the business case for us,” Milanowski says.</p>
<h4>Plugging in Renewables</h4>
<p>DMS technology could pave the way for new energy resources coming onto the grid. Distributed renewables projects, such rooftop solar, will present a management challenge for utilities if those installations become significantly widespread. If a large percentage of customers in a given area add rooftop photovoltaics, for example, all those new two-way power flows will affect safety and require more monitoring. Milanowski says intensive integration is required to bring that kind of distributed resource into current systems, and adds that it might take a decade to get there.</p>
<p>“Fully integrated optimized dispatch of all potential sources of energy, and demand side controls to get the most optimal system we can have—that would be the killer application for smart grid,” he says. DMS technology would be a central component for “integrating demand response, load management, distributed resources, storage, solar panels, wind farms, and fossil fuel central power plants.”</p>
<p>And when electric vehicle adoption reaches a critical mass, ADMS will play a crucial role. Oracle’s Williams highlights the potential for the technology to model electric vehicle loads and to help utilities anticipate capacity constraints and overloads. “[We can] plan to increase capacity or encourage the customer to get on an off-peak electrical vehicle charging rate where they could save some money,” he says.</p>
<p>But while DMS technology might be well suited to serve these future possibilities, Geisler cautions that emphasizing them too much now could risk avoiding the basic challenges that distribution management systems still need to overcome before they can meet today’s requirements. Utilities need operational stability of the grid before they can add distributed resources in a managed progression, he says.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of like eating your dessert first,” Geisler says. “It places a huge responsibility and set of requirements in terms of applications, analysis, assessment, and proactive recommendations on the DMS to be able to address those kinds of issues.”</p>
<p>Over time, evolving needs will lead to progressively more advanced DMS technology. “In the future, as we start to see more of the home area networks and AMI, then they’ll be brought into the control system,” says Tim Taylor. “Right now it’s just not economic for utilities to monitor each and every small photovoltaic that’s out there.”</p>
<h4>Securing the Future</h4>
<p>As DMS technology evolves to address a wider scope of operational needs, it raises concerns about increasing reliance on an integrated system. Like the HAL 9000 computer’s disastrous breakdown in <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>, failures with a sprawling control system like what’s envisioned for ADMS raise questions about stability and security.</p>
<p>To address those risks, vendors say they are building security into DMS technology from the start at multiple levels, from personnel and design architecture through implementation and process management. Milanowski says OG&amp;E’s approach aims for high availability, with a hot standby system running in parallel at a remote disaster recovery site.</p>
<p>And in preparation for the DMS, the utility has imposed new security protocols in its IT department, and is putting the DMS through extensive testing before implementation. During the system’s delivery lifecycle, it will undergo numerous stages of documentation, review, approval, and change management. About 20 consoles, each one a PC with multiple monitors, will allow developers, engineers, and operators to configure and operate the system.</p>
<p>“We have a lot of smart people working on this,” Milanowski says. “You have to.”</p>
<p>With such a significant amount of integration, automation, and synchronization, utilities aren’t making any blind leaps when it comes to ADMS implementation. Instead they’re approaching advanced distribution management with caution—and with a sense of optimism that the right programming inside their racks of computers will pay off with tangible benefits.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/security-reliability-cip">Security, Reliability &amp; CIP</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/smart-grid">Smart Grid</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/technology-corridor">Technology Corridor</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1111/images/1111-TC.jpg" width="1785" height="1524" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/abb">ABB</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/abb-ventyx">ABB Ventyx</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/accenture">Accenture</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/adms">ADMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/advanced-dms">Advanced DMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom">Alstom</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ami">AMI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/avnaesh-jayantilal">Avnaesh Jayantilal</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/brad-williams">Brad Williams</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/department-energy">Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dms">DMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/doe">DOE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/efacec-acs">Efacec ACS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gary-ockwell">Gary Ockwell</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/geospatial-information-systems">geospatial information systems</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gis">GIS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/idms">IDMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/integration">Integration</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/it">IT</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ken-geisler">Ken Geisler</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oms">OMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oracle">Oracle</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oracle-utilities">Oracle Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pacificorp">PacifiCorp</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/predrag-vujovic">Predrag Vujovic</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable">Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/said">SAID</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/saidi">SAIDI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/scada">SCADA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/scott-milanowski">Scott Milanowski</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/siemens">Siemens</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/soa">SOA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar-panels">solar panels</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storage">storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tim-taylor">Tim Taylor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wade-malcolm">Wade Malcolm</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/williams">Williams</a> </div>
</div>
Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0000puradmin13507 at http://www.fortnightly.comVendor Neutralhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2011/07/vendor-neutral
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Vendor Neutral</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - July 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1107-VENpic1.jpg" width="986" height="635" alt="Williams Partners invested $35 million to expand capacity at its Transco natural gas pipeline." title="Williams Partners invested $35 million to expand capacity at its Transco natural gas pipeline." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1107-VENpic2.jpg" width="1500" height="896" alt="Macy’s, SunPower and Arizona Public Service (APS) dedicated a 3.5-MW solar power system at the Macy’s online fulfillment center in Goodyear, Ariz. SunPower designed and installed the system and is providing operations and maintenance services. The system uses the SunPower T5 solar roof tile, which combines a high-efficiency solar panel, frame and mounting system into a single pre-engineered unit. " title="Macy’s, SunPower and Arizona Public Service (APS) dedicated a 3.5-MW solar power system at the Macy’s online fulfillment center in Goodyear, Ariz. SunPower designed and installed the system and is providing operations and maintenance services. The system uses the SunPower T5 solar roof tile, which combines a high-efficiency solar panel, frame and mounting system into a single pre-engineered unit. " /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1107-VENpic3.jpg" width="1500" height="1055" alt="Dominion Virginia Power began operations at its new 580-MW Bear Garden combined-cycle power plant." title="Dominion Virginia Power began operations at its new 580-MW Bear Garden combined-cycle power plant." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1107-VENpic4.jpg" width="477" height="705" alt="The 102-MW Milford Phase II project began operations in Utah, delivering power under contract to Southern California Public Power Authority." title="The 102-MW Milford Phase II project began operations in Utah, delivering power under contract to Southern California Public Power Authority." /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1107-VENpic5.jpg" width="1500" height="778" alt="Envision Solar installed a 300-kW shaded parking solar array in Morrow Meadows, Ariz." title="Envision Solar installed a 300-kW shaded parking solar array in Morrow Meadows, Ariz." /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/1107-VENpic6.jpg" width="1500" height="1056" alt="Belectric sold a 25-MW solar PV project in Sacramento, Calif., to Constellation Energy. Belectric recently began selling arrays in a 2-MW power block." title="Belectric sold a 25-MW solar PV project in Sacramento, Calif., to Constellation Energy. Belectric recently began selling arrays in a 2-MW power block." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h4>T&amp;D and Pipelines</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Williams Partners L.P.</span> placed into service two expansions on its Transco natural gas pipeline, adding a combined 598,500 dekatherms per day of firm transportation capacity to serve markets in the southeastern United States. New service from the Mobile Bay South II expansion project created an additional 380,000 dekatherms per day of southbound firm transportation capacity on the Mobile Bay Lateral from Transco’s mainline at Station 85 near Butler, Ala., to its interconnect with Gulfstream Natural Gas System in Coden, Ala. The project cost approximately $35 million.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Great Plains Energy and Kansas City Power &amp; Light (KCP&amp;L) </span>announced an agreement with <span class="boldred">Google</span> and the <span class="boldred">City of Kansas City, Mo.</span>, to bring Google’s ultra high-speed fiber optic Internet service to residents and businesses in Kansas City. As part of the agreement, KCP&amp;L will provide Google access to its poles, infrastructure and existing fiber network to deliver its ultra high-speed service. Deploying service over KCP&amp;L’s existing infrastructure allows Google to reduce costs as well as time for engineering, permitting and construction.</p>
<p>As part of a national effort to modernize the grid, <span class="boldred">MISO</span> and its members achieved a milestone in their three-year smart grid program to install electronic measurement devices known as synchrophasors across the region, completing the integration of 44 such devices at strategic points along the regional transmission network. The $34.5 million program is funded partly by $17.3 million in <i>ARRA</i> stimulus funds.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Siemens Energy</span> installed a turnkey HVDC (high-voltage direct-current), 12-km link to connect the power supply networks of New Jersey and New York, allowing an additional 660 MW of power to be transmitted across the Hudson River. The customer is Hudson Transmission Partners of Fairfield, Conn. The total contract value is approximately $400 million. The power link is scheduled to come on line in summer 2013.</p>
<h4>DR and Conservation</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Constellation Energy</span> and <span class="boldred">Lynxspring Inc.</span> agreed to increase automated load response users through the Lynxspring Energy Partner (LEP) network. The relationship will allow building controls providers and systems integrators to offer their customers Constellation Energy’s load response programs and VirtuWatt Energy Manager to automate load response. The LEP network is available to building controls providers serving customers in Constellation Energy’s load response markets in the Mid-Atlantic, New England, New York, Texas, California and Ontario. Through the LEP network, vendors will receive training in load response and energy markets, establishing curtailment plans, and deploying automated curtailment programs.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Servidyne</span> was awarded contracts to provide energy efficiency and demand response services for commercial and institutional buildings in the city of San Antonio, Texas. The initial two contracts, valued in excess of $560,000, call for Servidyne to provide retro commissioning and energy audit services for these facilities over the next two years. Servidyne also will perform demand response audits as part of the contracts, which were awarded by the City of San Antonio as part of the city’s Better Buildings Program, financed by a $10 million federal grant.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">EnerNOC</span> will provide demand response capacity to <span class="boldred">Electricity North West Limited</span>, a major distribution network operator that delivers power to 2.4 million domestic and industrial customers in northwestern England, including Greater Manchester and Cumbria. The five-year agreement will promote efficient electricity use within Electricity North West’s service territory and enable regional businesses and organizations to be paid to reduce their energy usage when capacity is needed to support the grid.</p>
<h4>People</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Alstom Grid</span> appointed <span class="boldred">Keith Stentiford</span> to the newly-created position of regional v.p. for North America. Stentiford, who previously held senior leadership positions with Alstom’s North American Transport business, will oversee the grid sector’s business activities across Canada, Mexico and the United States. He will be based in Alstom’s U.S. headquarters, located in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Craig Husa</span> was named CEO of <span class="boldred">3TIER</span>, a renewable energy risk analysis firm. He previously served as CEO of NeuralIQ, General Software, and Healia. He also founded CourtLink, which was acquired by LexisNexis.</p>
<h4>Generation</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Macy’s</span>, <span class="boldred">SunPower</span> and <span class="boldred">Arizona Public Service (APS)</span> dedicated a 3.5-MW solar power system at the Macy’s online fulfillment center in Goodyear, Ariz. SunPower designed and installed the system and is providing operations and maintenance services. The system uses the SunPower T5 solar roof tile, which combines a high-efficiency solar panel, frame and mounting system into a single pre-engineered unit.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Dominion Virginia Power</span> began commercial operations at its Bear Garden Power Station in central Virginia. The 580-MW plant is expected to reduce the amount of electricity brought into Virginia, which imports more power than any other state except California. The $619-million project received approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission in March 2009, and construction began a month later. The station’s two 170-MW turbines burn natural gas with oil as a backup fuel source. The combined cycle system provides an additional 240 MW.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Envision Solar International</span> completed the design, engineering and installation of a 300-kW shaded parking solar array for <span class="boldred">Morrow Meadows</span> in Arizona. The array will provide shaded parking for the tenants of a commercial property while generating solar energy. Envision Solar is responsible for the solar master planning, design and development of solar projects and the supply of its ParkSolar designs. Morrow Meadows provides electrical, engineering and contracting services.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Riley Power</span>, a subsidiary of Babcock Power, received a contract to design and supply a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system for <span class="boldred">Salt River Project’s</span> (SRP) Coronado Generating Station (CGS) near St. Johns, Ariz. Riley Power will supply an SCR system for the 435-MW Coronado Unit 2 to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions. The SCR is expected to be commissioned by June 2014.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Siemens Energy</span> was selected by <span class="boldred">Syncarpha Capital</span> to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for a 3-MW, ground-based PV power plant in Easthampton, N.J. Construction began in May 2011 and the plant is scheduled to go online in September 2011. Syncarpha Capital will finance the plant, which will use Siemens technology and plant performance guarantees.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Community Energy Solar</span> and <span class="boldred">Exelon Generation</span> closed a 15-year agreement for the purchase of power and renewable energy credits from a 6-MW solar project that Community Energy is building in Lancaster County, Penn. The agreement will support the construction of the largest solar energy facility in the state, consisting of approximately 25,000 solar panels installed on approximately 30 acres. The project will be located along Lancaster Pike south of the city of Lancaster.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">AREVA Canada</span> signed a three-year business development agreement with <span class="boldred">Cegertec</span> to promote and increase the scope of engineering services for maintenance and service work in the Québec nuclear energy market. The agreement is an extension of the working relationship between AREVA and Cegertec, which have already worked on projects in Québec, India and the United States.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">First Wind</span> started commercial operations at the 102-MW Milford Wind Corridor Phase II project. Located in the counties of Millard and Beaver, Utah, the Milford Phases I and II are the two largest wind energy projects in the state. Milford II, which features 68 1.5-MW GE turbines, is located north of the 204-MW Milford Phase I project. The projects sell their output to Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) under a power purchase agreement, for distribution by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Glendale Water and Power.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Western Massachusetts Electric Co. (WMECo)</span> launched development of a solar energy facility in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield. The selected site—owned by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority—encompasses 12 acres and will accommodate 8,200 solar panels to produce 2.2 MW of electricity. Upon completion, the Indian Orchard facility will join WMECo’s Silver Lake solar facility in Pittsfield as one of the largest in the Northeast region. The project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">NJR Clean Energy Ventures (NJRCEV)</span>, a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, leased 13 acres of land in Manalapan, N.J., for a 3.6-MW, $18 million ground-mounted solar system. Power output is to be sold into the PJM wholesale electric market, with solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) sold to load serving entities in New Jersey. NJRCEV will lease the site for 21 years from Village At Manalapan Solar, an affiliate of Spano Partners Holdings. NJR expects investments made by NJRCEV will qualify for a 30-percent federal investment tax credit.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Cogentrix of Alamosa</span> secured from the U.S. Department of Energy a conditional commitment for a $90.6 million loan guarantee to support construction of the 30-MW Alamosa concentrating solar photovoltaic generation project located in south-central Colorado. The proposed facility will use concentrating optics and multi-junction solar cell panels controlled by a dual-axis tracking system. According to the project sponsor, the multi-junction solar cells are nearly 40 percent efficient. The project will sell its electricity output to Public Service Company of Colorado.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Carmanah Technologies</span> was awarded a contract valued at approximately CAN$1.8 million to provide solar grid-tied PV systems for two elementary schools in Southern Ontario. Each school will be outfitted with a 100-kW rooftop system, consisting of more than 500 solar modules as well as a web-enabled data monitoring system where the collected information will be accessible for educational purposes. The grid-tied PV structure will be incorporated into the sloped infrastructure of the building with the arrays large enough to be seen from ground level.</p>
<h4>EVs and Storage</h4>
<p>Scientists at the <span class="boldred">U.S. Department of Energy’s</span> Brookhaven National Laboratory have helped to uncover the nanoscale structure of a novel form of carbon, contributing to an explanation of why this new material acts like a super-absorbent sponge when it comes to soaking up electric charge. The material, which was recently created at the University of Texas-Austin, can be incorporated into supercapacitor energy-storage devices while retaining other attractive attributes such as superfast energy release, quick recharge time, and a lifetime of at least 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. Scientists say the processing techniques used to create the new form of carbon are readily scalable to industrial production.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Tesla Motors</span> and the <span class="boldred">Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)</span> have joined <span class="boldred">U.S. DRIVE</span>, a voluntary government-industry partnership focused on research and development of electric vehicles and related infrastructure technology. The Department of Energy also announced that the research consortium was being re-named from the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership to U.S. DRIVE, which stands for Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability.</p>
<h4>M&amp;A</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">Constellation Energy</span> acquired a 25-MW solar generation project in Sacramento, Calif., from photovoltaic power plant developer <span class="boldred">Belectric Inc.</span> The system will be comprised of approximately 381,000 First Solar thin film photovoltaic panels, ground-mounted at multiple sites near the city of Sacramento. Constellation will own and operate the system and sell the electricity generated from it to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) under multiple 20-year power purchase agreements. The project is expected to be commercially operational by the end of 2011. The transaction was arranged by Smart Energy Capital LLC.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Spectra Energy Partners</span> entered an agreement with <span class="boldred">EQT Corp.</span> to acquire all of the ownership interests of Big Sandy Pipeline, a federally regulated natural gas pipeline system in eastern Kentucky, for $390 million in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. Big Sandy Pipeline has 171 million cubic feet per day of capacity and is approximately 70 miles long. EQT will be the main shipper on the pipeline, with over 80 percent of the pipeline’s capacity under firm, 16-year transportation agreements. Big Sandy Pipeline’s interconnect with the Tennessee Gas Pipeline system links the Huron Shale and Appalachian Basin natural gas supplies to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast markets.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Duke Energy Renewables</span> purchased the Shirley wind power project from a subsidiary of <span class="boldred">Central Hudson Enterprises</span>. The wind farm is located on approximately 500 acres of leased land in Glenmore, 30 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wisc. The project, which began commercial operation in December 2010, sells all of its output and associated renewable energy credits to Wisconsin Public Service under a 20-year power purchase agreement.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Exelon</span> acquired <span class="boldred">Wolf Hollow</span>, a combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant in north Texas, from Sequent Wolf Hollow for $305 million, as adjusted for working capital. The transaction adds 720 MW to Exelon’s fleet in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power market, where the company owns and operates three other natural gas-fired power plants. Wolf Hollow, located near Granbury, Texas, began operation in August 2003. It’s equipped with two Mitsubishi combined-cycle gas turbines and serves the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. Exelon currently has a power purchase agreement with Wolf Hollow, through 2023, to purchase 350 MW of its output. The Wolf Hollow transaction is subject to approval by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the notification and reporting requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Exelon plans to finance the transaction with existing cash flow and liquidity resources and expects to close it in the third quarter of 2011. Barclays Capital acted as financial advisor to Exelon.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Magma Energy</span> and <span class="boldred">Plutonic</span><span class="boldred">Power</span> completed their merger, which was approved by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on May 9, 2011. Magma acquired all of the outstanding shares of Plutonic on the basis of 2.38 common shares of Magma and Cdn. $0.0001 in cash for each Plutonic common share. Magma will change its name to “Alterra Power Corp.” and its common shares are expected to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “AXY.”</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Juhl Wind</span> closed its acquisition of the 10.2-MW Woodstock Hills wind farm, located near the company’s headquarters in Woodstock, Minn. Juhl was the original developer of the Woodstock Hills wind farm, which entered service in 1999 and was previously owned in concert with two institutional investor partners. The 10.2-MW wind farm uses 17 Vestas V-44 turbines and sells the output to Xcel Energy under a long-term power purchase agreement. Juhl paid $400,000 to acquire a controlling, 99.9-percent ownership interest alongside the 0.1-percent local owner. Juhl expects the wind farm to continue to generate revenue of approximately $1.2 million per year, as it has historically.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC)</span> acquired the transmission and distribution (T&amp;D) engineering capabilities of <span class="boldred">Patrick Energy Services (PES),</span> which provides services for planning, design, engineering and construction of transmission, substation, distribution, smart grid, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), and protection and control systems.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Fortis</span> agreed to acquire the outstanding common shares of <span class="boldred">Central Vermont Public Service</span>, the largest integrated electric utility in Vermont, for $35.10 per share in cash, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $700 million, including the assumption of approximately $230 million of debt on close.</p>
<h4>Metering</h4>
<p><span class="boldred">DTE Energy</span> selected <span class="boldred">Itron</span> and <span class="boldred">Tropos</span> to supply technologies for its $168 million SmartCurrents program. SmartCurrents is targeted at modernizing the electric grid, improving distribution system reliability and efficiency, as well as providing electric customers with more information about their power usage. Phase one spans more than 500 square miles and includes the installation of approximately 800,000 Itron OpenWay meters; DTE already has installed nearly 300,000 OpenWay meters. In addition to the meters and endpoints, the communications architecture for the SmartCurrents program includes Tropos high-performance wireless communications technology and mesh routers. The project also includes rollout of distribution automation applications and involves upgrades to 11 substations and 55 distribution circuits.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Bangor Hydro</span> implemented <span class="boldred">Itron</span> software to help it migrate from automated meter reading (AMR) processes to an AMI system. Itron Enterprise Edition meter data management (IEE MDM) is a part of Bangor Hydro’s smart grid initiative and will calculate billing determinants for multiple pricing programs—including day-ahead hourly pricing, which Bangor Hydro says is one of the first programs of its kind in the United States. IEE MDM validates the meter data, stores it in a centralized repository and calculates billing determinants, which are distributed to billing and web applications. Bangor Hydro will use IEE Customer Care to present customers with more detailed usage and pricing information through a new web portal, giving them information to manage their electricity consumption and costs.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Long Island Power Authority</span><span class="boldred">(LIPA)</span> and its agent <span class="boldred">National Grid Electric Services</span> selected eMeter’s EnergyIP meter data management platform. The project will serve as a part of the foundation to deploy a smart grid framework across the electric service territory, and eMeter’s Energy Engage online consumer portal to allow LIPA customers to manage their energy use. The implementation is part of LIPA’s Smart Corridor Project being funded by a <i>American Recovery and Reinvestment Act</i> (ARRA) grant from the Department of Energy.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&amp;L)</span> selected <span class="boldred">Siemens Energy</span> to implement <span class="boldred">eMeter</span> EnergyIP, a meter data management system (MDMS), as part of its <i>ARRA</i>-funded smart grid demonstration project. Siemens will provide configuration, testing and integration services into KCP&amp;L’s information technology systems. The primary objective of the project is to demonstrate standards-based interoperability between the MDMS and other KCP&amp;L smart grid systems.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">Elster</span> and the <span class="boldred">Salt River Project (SRP)</span> deployed Elster’s EnergyICT EIServer MDMS to manage more than 900,000 planned advanced metering devices throughout the utility’s service territory. The system will perform detailed smart meter data analysis on information collected from every Elster AMI endpoint, allowing SRP to implement time-of-use (TOU) metering, and providing operational benefits, including: work-flow management to integrate processes and data, improved sampling and expanded data options for load research, more accurate forecasting to improve power buy and sell decisions, real-time data processing, asset optimization and demand response. The implementation is expected to be completed in July 2011.</p>
<p><span class="boldred">City of Dayton, Tenn.</span>, selected <span class="boldred">Elster</span> EnergyAxis to power its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project. Elster, along with its regional distribution partner WESCO Distribution, will supply 8,000 residential and 2,000 commercial Elster REX and A3 Alpha smart meters. The system will allow Dayton to modernize its infrastructure to provide customers with pricing and usage information through TOU rates. The meters will be installed by the Dayton Electric Department with a project completion date of September 2012.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/generation-markets">Generation &amp; Markets</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/td-grid">T&amp;D Grid</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/vendor-neutral">Vendor Neutral</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/3tier">3TIER</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom">Alstom</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom-grid">Alstom Grid</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alterra-power">Alterra Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alterra-power-corp">Alterra Power Corp</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act">American Recovery and Reinvestment Act</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ami">AMI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/amr">AMR</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/aps">APS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arizona-public-service">Arizona Public Service</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arra">ARRA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/barclays">Barclays</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/barclays-capital">Barclays Capital</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cash-flow">cash flow</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/central-vermont-public-service">Central Vermont Public Service</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/city-kansas-city">City of Kansas City</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/commission">Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/conservation">Conservation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellat">Constellat</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation">Constellation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation-energy">Constellation Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cpp">CPP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/craig-husa">Craig Husa</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dc">DC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/department-energy">Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/distribution">Distribution</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dms">DMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion">Dominion</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion-virginia-power">Dominion Virginia Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dr">DR</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dte-energy">DTE Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke-energy">Duke Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke-energy-renewables">Duke Energy Renewables</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research">Electric Power Research</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research-institute">Electric Power Research Institute</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research-institute-epri">Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-reliability-council-texas">Electric Reliability Council of Texas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-reliability-council-texas-ercot">Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electricity-north-west-limited">Electricity North West Limited</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/elster">Elster</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/emeter">eMeter</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energyaxis-0">EnergyAxis</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/enernoc">EnerNOC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/envision-solar">Envision Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/envision-solar-international">Envision Solar International</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epri">EPRI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/eqt">EQT</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ercot">ERCOT</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ev">EV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/evs">EVs</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/exelon">Exelon</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/exelon-generation">Exelon Generation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/first-solar">First Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/first-wind">First Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fortis">Fortis</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ge">GE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/google">Google</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/great-plains-energy">Great Plains Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gulfstream">Gulfstream</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hudson-transmission-partners">Hudson Transmission Partners</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hvdc">HVDC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hydro">Hydro</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ict">ICT</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/iee">IEE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/innovation">Innovation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/iso">ISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/itron">Itron</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/juhl-wind">Juhl Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/keith-stentiford">Keith Stentiford</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lynxspring-inc">Lynxspring Inc.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mdm">MDM</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mdms">MDMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/milford-wind-corridor">Milford Wind Corridor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/miso">MISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/national-grid">National Grid</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-jersey">New Jersey</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/openway">OpenWay</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ot">OT</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pjm">PJM</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ppa">PPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/public-service-company-colorado">Public Service Company of Colorado</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/public-utility-commission-texas">Public Utility Commission of Texas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pv">PV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pv-systems">PV systems</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/rec">REC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/recovery">Recovery</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/reliability">Reliability</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable">Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sacramento-municipal-utility-district">Sacramento Municipal Utility District</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/saic">SAIC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/scada">SCADA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/science-applications-international-corp">Science Applications International Corp</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/science-applications-international-corp-0">Science Applications International Corp.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/scr">SCR</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sequent-wolf-hollow">Sequent Wolf Hollow</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/servidyne">Servidyne</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/siemens">Siemens</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/siemens-energy">Siemens Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/smart-energy-capital">Smart Energy Capital</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar">Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar-panels">solar panels</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/spectra-energy-partners">Spectra Energy Partners</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/srec">SREC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storage">storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sunpower">SunPower</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tesla">Tesla</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transco">Transco</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission">Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/us-department-energy">U.S. Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/university-texas">University of Texas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/vestas">Vestas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/virtuwatt-0">VirtuWatt</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/williams">Williams</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/williams-partners">Williams Partners</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/williams-partners-lp">Williams Partners L.P.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wisconsin-public-service">Wisconsin Public Service</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/xcel-energy">Xcel Energy</a> </div>
</div>
Fri, 01 Jul 2011 04:00:00 +0000puradmin13544 at http://www.fortnightly.comSeismic Omenhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2011/05/seismic-omen
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Fukushima shockwaves hit America’s nuclear renaissance.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Dan Scotto</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Dan Scotto</b> is president and chief investment officer at Whitehall Financial Advisors. Previously he was an analyst at BNP Paribas and Bear Stearns before that.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - May 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1105/images/1105-FEA2-fig1.jpg" width="1364" height="1549" alt="" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1105/images/1105-FEA2-fig2.jpg" width="1360" height="1545" alt="" /></div><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1105/images/1105-FEA2-fig3.jpg" width="2060" height="1601" alt="" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1105/images/1105-FEA2-figh1.jpg" width="1368" height="929" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Radiation leaks from Japan’s Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant following the March 11, 2011, 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami have had a chilling effect on the global nuclear industry, forcing investors and governments to re-examine their energy policies.</p>
<p>In the United States, the Fukushima crisis prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to conduct an immediate review of 27 operating reactors (out of the 104 currently running), thereby raising the specter of costly modifications to the aging facilities (average age 20 years) and a redesign of plants on the drawing board.</p>
<p>Several countries, including Italy, Germany, France, India, and even China, have imposed temporary moratoriums on nuclear reactor construction. Until a post-mortem analysis of Fukushima-Daiichi is completed, the global nuclear industry will continue to face the possibility that operating plants might have design defects. It’s conceivable that both operating plants and those under construction could require additional major capital expenditures in order to comply with any new regulations.</p>
<p>The financial markets find nothing more distasteful than uncertainty (you don’t know what you don’t know). What we do know is that a number of plants were designed to withstand earthquakes of 7.0 to 7.5—as much as two orders of magnitude smaller than the March 11 quake.</p>
<p>Analyzing the implications of seismic risks and incorporating lessons learned from Fukushima might add months or even years to construction programs. It’s also conceivable that some projects may be scrapped entirely. NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG), for example, said it would temporarily cap its investment in the South Texas Nuclear Plant (STP) until results of the Fukushima investigation are available. (Notably, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), owner of Fukushima-Daiichi, has a conditional agreement for a partial ownership stake in an expansion of the plant.) And Exelon Inc. (EXC), one of America’s largest nuclear utilities, has expressed concerns that a reactor construction moratorium and incorporation of lessons learned from Fukushima will make the next generation of nuclear power plants more costly than anticipated.</p>
<p>Can America’s nuclear renaissance survive this challenge?</p>
<h4>Re-living TMI</h4>
<p>The Fukushima-Daiichi situation seems likely to affect the U.S. nuclear power industry in ways that are similar to the effects of the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident in 1979. A history review, therefore, might be instructive for plant owners and utility investors.</p>
<p>Before the TMI accident, companies engaged in large nuclear construction programs enjoyed capital market premiums; their stocks traded at higher price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples and their credit ratings were typically higher than their non-nuclear brethren. Commonwealth Edison, a triple-A utility, had 12 nuclear units under construction. Arizona Public Service, owners of the Palo Verde plant in Arizona, had five plants underway.</p>
<p>The reversal of political fortunes for what was then a fully regulated industry was a clear setback. The anti-nuclear age had begun, and companies now faced unanticipated local opposition, resulting in prolonged construction delays and huge cost overruns—in some cases as much as a ten-fold increase in costs. Political antagonism intensified over the next two decades. Companies that managed to complete nuclear plants met considerable resistance to incorporating these new assets into utility rate structures.</p>
<p>Before the TMI accident, the rating agencies believed that utilities were bankruptcy-proof, and based their financial criteria and ratings accordingly. TMI, however, represented a major turning point for utilities building nuclear power plants. Between 1980 and 1984, 51 reactors were canceled. The post-TMI decade gave rise to new accounting concepts (<i>e.g.</i>, phase-ins, securitization, rate shock, etc.), with write-offs endangering many companies’ equity. Credit ratings plunged from a double-A to triple-B within months. Having many projects well into the construction phase, the industry had little choice but to engage in costly financing against a hostile social and political backdrop.</p>
<p>An industry that was once thought to be virtually bankruptcy proof now faced the possibility of insolvency. After all, there hadn’t been a utility bankruptcy in more than 50 years. Investors believed that utilities were legally entitled to earn a regulator-established rate of return on their newly completed assets, nuclear or otherwise. Thus, utilities were bankruptcy proof—or so it was believed.</p>
<p>The 1980s were financially damaging to the industry, especially companies building nuclear plants. Balance sheets and loan covenants were pushed to the limits, and common stock dividends were frequently reduced or eliminated. Utilities were no longer safe havens, shattering the premise that utility common stocks were very low-risk investments, suitable for widows and orphans.</p>
<h4>Financial Fallout</h4>
<p>When Consolidated Edison (ED) omitted its common stock dividend in 1974, the market reaction was devastating. Its credit rating was cut to non-investment grade and the stock fell to $12 per share from $18, because after 89 years of paying a common dividend, the unthinkable happened.</p>
<p>The one thing a utility never did was reduce or eliminate its common dividend; investors bought utility stocks primarily to get those dividends. Utility stocks were viewed as bond surrogates. There was a tacit understanding in the investment community that canceling a dividend was unthinkable, since utilities had to frequently sell new issues of stock and bonds to finance the expansion of their generating and distribution systems. Utilities, regulators and politicians realized that the dividend-paying ability of utilities was vital to their ability to access the capital markets. Given the capital-intense nature of the utility business, no company would dare to take the bold step to cut or eliminate their common dividend for fear that doing so would cut off access to the capital markets. Investors believed it could never happen. But it did—and more than once.</p>
<p>During the 1980s, bondholders and regulators demanded that utilities retain as much cash as possible to satisfy expanding capital outlays, largely for nuclear plants. As a result dividend cuts and omissions occurred with increasing regularity. Nuclear projects pushed capital spending and external financing requirements to the limits. Construction projects exploded in size, seemingly overnight, from millions of dollars to billions of dollars, and completion dates were delayed by years. Texas Utilities (TXU), once a triple-A utility, saw the cost of its twin-unit Comanche Peak nuclear station rocket to $11 billion from $3 billion, with in-service dates moved out 10 years, to 1990 and 1993. (TXU had broken ground on Comanche Peak in 1974.) Its credit rating dropped to triple-B by the time the plant was finished.</p>
<p>But TXU got off easy compared to some utilities—such as Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH).</p>
<p>Based on a strict interpretation of the New Hampshire Public Utility Commission’s rate-making rules, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued a ruling disallowing PSNH a return on its unfinished Seabrook nuclear plant, effectively shutting the utility’s access to the capital markets and leaving it illiquid. PSNH would be the first utility bankruptcy in over 50 years.</p>
<p>Legal challenges and stall techniques by Seabrook adversaries—primarily the Clamshell Alliance, but also utility regulators and local politicians, including Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis—forced PSNH to file for Chapter 11 protection. At the time, PSNH was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. corporate history. Seabrook was ultimately completed 10 years later than expected at a cost approaching $7 billion for a single unit.</p>
<p>And no discussion of the nuclear industry would be complete without mentioning Long Island Lighting Co.’s (LILCO) Shoreham nuclear plant project. LILCO announced construction plans in 1969, with a projected cost in the $65 million to $75 million range, and a 1973 in-service date. By 1973—still six years before the TMI accident—cost overruns had pushed the estimated final price tag to $2 billion, as LILCO increased the plant size from 540 MW to 820 MW.</p>
<p>Due to mounting anti-nuclear protests, physical construction didn’t begin until 1974. When the plant was completed in 1984 its cost had zoomed past $6 billion. By then, it was the post-TMI era, and the world wasn’t favorably disposed to nuclear power. Opposition to Shoreham was escalating. Following TMI, the NRC issued rules requiring all nuclear power plants to devise evacuation plans in collaboration with state and local governments. In 1983, Suffolk County lawmakers voted 15-1 against developing such a plan, arguing that the county couldn’t be safely evacuated. In addition, the governor, Mario Cuomo, ordered state officials not to approve any LILCO-sponsored evacuation plan.</p>
<p>LILCO vigorously fought the non-participation initiative from 1985 to 1989. However, it was evident that Shoreham couldn’t satisfy the criteria laid out by the NRC for a full power operating license. After a long battle, an agreement was reached with New York State to acquire LILCO and allow the utility to recover its nearly $6 billion Shoreham investment. A newly created New York State entity, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), was empowered to purchase the plant and other LILCO assets. The transaction was signed, sealed and delivered in 1998, almost 30 years after the project was first announced.</p>
<p>TXU, PSNH and LILCO are merely three stories from the post-TMI era. This list is by no means complete, but it illustrates the risks associated with nuclear power—an ironic legacy for a “renaissance” industry.</p>
<h4>Seismic Risk</h4>
<p>Today, approximately 20 percent of the electricity generated in the United States is derived from nuclear plants. Notwithstanding government inducements toward other forms of alternative energy, such as solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels, nuclear must remain on the energy resource menu in order to maintain the degree of reliability Americans have come to enjoy.</p>
<p>President Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu are trying to bolster public acceptance of the technology, even in the Fukushima aftermath. In order to reassure the public, beginning next year, the NRC plans initially to conduct a seismic risk evaluation of 27 nuclear power plants <i>(see Figure 2)</i>.</p>
<p>The selection of reactors to be examined initially for seismic vulnerability is more interesting for the facilities omitted from the list rather than those included, specifically nuclear reactors in California, which are close to the San Andreas Fault: Diablo Canyon #1 and #2 (owned by Pacific Gas &amp; Electric) and San Onofre #2 and #3 (Edison International).</p>
<p>The entire West Coast lies along a series of earthquake faults known as the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” including the well-known San Andreas fault. The Ring of Fire refers to a region in the Pacific Ocean basin subject to frequent volcanic and earthquake activity. It’s horseshoe shaped, running from Christchurch, New Zealand right through the Pacific Rim, and down the western coasts of North and South America.</p>
<p>In September 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred about 25 miles west of Christchurch, causing substantial damage. Japan is located on the Ring of Fire, as are Washington State, Oregon and California. About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes—and 80 percent of the largest—occur along the Ring of Fire.</p>
<p>However, the West Coast is not America’s only seismically active region, and several new reactor projects are located near geologic faults in the eastern half of the country <i>(see Figure 3)</i>. Although these might not be susceptible to tsunami risks, their proximity to fault lines is raising new questions about earthquake risks.</p>
<p>The Fukushima-Daiichi crisis provides a painful reminder of just how unpredictable earthquakes are and how controversial nuclear power remains. In the days just after the March 11 earthquake, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) called on the NRC to review the safety of all nuclear reactors either planned or currently in operation. Markey commented that “the U.S. should not be offering (loan) guarantees. Such backing for new nuclear plants is just like a toxic asset… [T]he U.S. needs a seismic shift in our approach to nuclear reactor safety.”</p>
<p>Markey has a long history of taking an anti-nuclear position, but the Fukushima political fallout isn’t limited to just him. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo immediately called for a shutdown of the Indian Point plant north of New York City. The Sierra Club, a long-standing adversary of nuclear power, launched its objection to the proposed Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland. Entergy, which is suing the State of Vermont over last year’s decision to deny a license extension for the Vermont Yankee plant, now faces questions about the safety of the plant’s design—the same GE Mark 1 boiling water reactor technology as that at Fukushima-Daiichi. And more broadly, anti-nuclear organizations like Greenpeace are saying the Fukushima crisis demonstrates why nuclear power should be phased out.</p>
<p>To those who remember the financial crisis after the TMI accident, these reactions are disconcerting. Will they frustrate, if not derail, the industry’s willingness today to undertake large-scale nuclear projects?</p>
<h4>No Bailouts</h4>
<p>The energy industry is unlike most of industrial America. It suffers from a hypersensitivity to ever shifting-regulatory, social and political sentiments—not a good thing given its long construction and capital commitment cycles.</p>
<p>The Obama administration has stated that nuclear power is an integral part of the nation’s clean energy future and is needed to maintain electric reliability and lower our dependence on foreign oil. The president’s view is painfully pragmatic. He clearly recognizes that the 20 percent of the electricity generated in this country by nuclear energy can’t be replaced overnight, regardless of how aggressively we pursue alternatives.</p>
<p>If anything, we are late in the process of replenishing existing nuclear generating capacity. As recently as February 2011, the president stated, “On an issue that affects our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we can’t continue to be mired in the same old stale debates between left and right, between environmentalists and entrepreneurs.”</p>
<p>The Department of Energy has approved $8.3 billion in conditional federal loan guarantees for construction of the first nuclear power plants in nearly three decades. The loan guarantees are designed to act as a financing catalyst. Southern Company (SO) is the initial recipient of loan guarantees that are intended to aid in funding twin units at the existing Vogtle nuclear station in Georgia. The DOE echoed the administration’s view that they were hopeful that Vogtle would be “the first of many new nuclear projects.” The DOE, the administrator of the loan guarantee program, stated that the department is “actively engaged in advanced work on three other transactions and has begun analysis on four more beyond that.” While not specifically identifying the three projects up for review, according to industry officials the facilities are in Maryland, South Carolina and Texas.</p>
<p>Southern, together with two partners, is planning to add two additional reactors at the Vogtle site at an estimated cost of $14 billion. The company anticipates that the reactors will be finished by 2016 and 2017, respectively. The reliability of these dates now bears questioning, because while construction might be physically possible, it might not be politically possible. There is a slim margin for error, politically speaking. The importance of these completion dates shouldn’t be underestimated because they are the only reactors scheduled to come on line while President Obama is still in office—assuming he wins re-election in 2012. His successor might or might not continue federal support for nuclear power.</p>
<p>As a means to induce investors and mitigate company construction risk, Obama’s 2011 budget proposal would add $36 billion in new federal loan guarantees to the money already earmarked for such guarantees—raising the total to $54.5 billion. While this initiative has been criticized by conservatives and liberals alike, the utility industry says the allocation is well below its needs, which it places at a minimum of $122 billion.</p>
<p>However, the federal loan guarantees aren’t bailouts; as presently structured they fall substantially short of funding the next generation of new reactors. At best, the guarantees are characterized as a vote of confidence in nuclear power.</p>
<p>The <i>Energy Policy Act</i> of 2005 provides, among other provisions, for “Standby Support for New Reactor Delays.” The law offers protection to offset the financial impact of delays beyond the industry’s control that might occur during construction and during the initial phases of plant startup for the first six new reactors. The bill provides for 100 percent coverage of the cost of delays for the first two new plants—but that coverage is limited to a maximum of $500 million per reactor—and 50 percent coverage, up to $250 million per plant, for each of the next four units.</p>
<p>Given the controversial nature of the technology and the formidable opposition, investors and utilities ultimately might find the current level of guarantees decidedly inadequate. For example, NRG recently said that it would consider limiting pre-construction activity at the South Texas nuclear station; it already has committed $350 million to the venture. The project is officially moving forward, but it’s possible the future of units #3 and #4 may come into question in response to new regulations following Fukushima. And Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, holder of a minority stake in the North Anna #1 and #2 reactors in Virginia, recently announced its decision to withdraw from North Anna #3. It should be noted that this decision was made just days prior to the Fukushima accident. It may have been a prescient move given that the NRC has reportedly placed North Anna seventh on its list of the most quake-prone nuclear reactor sites in the U.S.</p>
<h4>Rethinking the Renaissance</h4>
<p>The NRC has received 19 applications for new nuclear reactors. Time will tell whether or not these plants will receive final approval from the NRC and get built or be canceled by the project owners because they find the anti-nuclear public sentiment insurmountable and the costs prohibitive. The anti-nuclear constituencies have already begun to rally around the wagon. Experience has shown that anti-nuclear groups have staying power and will use every regulatory and legal means to halt a project. The net effect of such intervention is to delay in-service dates and increase plant costs. A handful of companies, knowing the hurdles, might be determined to pursue their plans, but we have to wonder whether those utilities with projects in the licensing pipeline aren’t having second thoughts, given the devastating Fukushima nuclear accident.</p>
<p>One investment bank report (by UBS analysts Per Lekander and Stephen Oldfield) says that Fukushima will be more damaging to the nuclear industry than Chernobyl—because it cast “doubt on whether even an advanced economy can master nuclear safety.” The report suggests that as many as 30 life-extension projects will be scrapped directly as a result of Fukushima. While new reactor designs with passive cooling systems might be more capable of surviving a Fukushima-type disaster, the perceived risk of nuclear construction is now much higher than it was before March 11.</p>
<p>John Rowe, chairman of Exelon, one of the nation’s largest operators of nuclear power plants, recently stated that Fukushima “is going to impose significant costs, perhaps material costs, before we are done.” The question for utilities and investors now is this: Do these capital intensive ventures, having protracted construction cycles, make economic sense for shareholders? How prudent is it to risk capital on an asset that won’t provide cash flow for a decade or more? Old foes are already speaking out and some new ones have surfaced. How will their revitalized opposition affect project schedules and costs? And given the role that spent-fuel cooling ponds played in the Fukushima disaster, uncertainties about nuclear waste have grown substantially. Is the disposal of spent fuel rods an off-balance sheet liability and hidden expense?</p>
<p>These issues shouldn’t be lost on company managements, and they aren’t likely to be lost on investors. Current estimates place the cost of building a new nuclear plant in the $5 billion to $12 billion vicinity, depending on the facility’s size. These projections could prove to be conservative given the roughly 10-year construction period.</p>
<p>So to recap: A postmortem of Fukushima will expose new nuclear plants to many uncertainties, including the possibility of added safety requirements. The anti-nuclear movement will gain strength from this accident, thereby forcing companies to reexamine the prudence of proposed nuclear construction plans. The capital markets are highly sensitive to political trends extending through various cycles—recall the demise of PSNH and LILCO. As projections currently stand, only the first nuclear plants will be shepherded by President Obama, leaving a large political void for the next plants.</p>
<p>In this landscape, it’s hard to conclude anything but that Fukushima represents a disaster for the global nuclear power industry. It might add complexities and costs to relicensing, life-extension and uprating projects, and could spell the end of America’s nuclear renaissance.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/environmental">Environmental</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/nuclear">Nuclear</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1105/images/1105-FEA2.jpg" width="725" height="720" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/andrew-cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arizona-public-service">Arizona Public Service</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bankruptcy">bankruptcy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/calvert-cliffs">Calvert Cliffs</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cash-flow">cash flow</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chernobyl">Chernobyl</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/china">China</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/clamshell-alliance">Clamshell Alliance</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/commission">Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/credit-ratings">Credit ratings</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/department-energy">Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/doe">DOE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion">Dominion</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/edison-international">Edison International</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/edward-markey">Edward Markey</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energy-policy-act">Energy Policy Act</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/entergy">Entergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epc">EPC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/exelon">Exelon</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/exelon-inc">Exelon Inc.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fukushima">Fukushima</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fukushima-disaster">Fukushima disaster</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fukushima-daiichi-0">Fukushima-Daiichi</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-plant">Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ge">GE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ge-mark-1-boiling-water-reactor-technology">GE Mark 1 boiling water reactor technology</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/governor-andrew-cuomo">Governor Andrew Cuomo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/greenpeace">Greenpeace</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/indian-point">Indian Point</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/john-rowe">John Rowe</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lilco">LILCO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lipa">LIPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-lighting-co">Long Island Lighting Co.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/mario-cuomo">Mario Cuomo</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/michael-dukakis">Michael Dukakis</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/north-anna-1">North Anna #1</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nrc">NRC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nrg">NRG</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nrg-energy">NRG Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nuclear">Nuclear</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nuclear-regulatory-commission">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/old-dominion-electric-cooperative">Old Dominion Electric Cooperative</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/lekander">Per Lekander</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/president-obama">President Obama</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/public-service-company-new-hampshire">Public Service Company of New Hampshire</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/radiation">Radiation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/radiation-leaks">Radiation leaks</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/san-andreas-fault">San Andreas Fault</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/seabrook-nuclear-plant">Seabrook nuclear plant</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/secretary-energy-steven-chu">Secretary of Energy Steven Chu</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shoreham-nuclear-plant-project">Shoreham nuclear plant project</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sierra-club">Sierra Club</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/south-texas-nuclear-plant">South Texas Nuclear Plant</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-company">Southern Company</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/stephen-oldfield">Stephen Oldfield</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/steven-chu">Steven Chu</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tep">TEP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tepco">TEPCO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/texas-utilities">Texas Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/three-mile-island">Three Mile Island</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tmi">TMI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tokyo-electric-power">Tokyo Electric Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/tokyo-electric-power-co">Tokyo Electric Power Co.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ubs">UBS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/vermont-yankee-plant">Vermont Yankee plant</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/vogtle-nuclear-station">Vogtle nuclear station</a> </div>
</div>
Sun, 01 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000puradmin14109 at http://www.fortnightly.comPeople (December 2010)http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2010/12/people-december-2010
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - December 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span class="boldred">New Opportunities: </span><b>Chesapeake Utilities</b> named <b>Michael P. McMasters</b> president and CEO, due to the planned retirement Jan. 1, 2011 of CEO <b>John R. Schimkaitis</b>.</p>
<p><b>Duke Energy</b> appointed <b>Doug Esamann</b> president of its Indiana service region. Esamann was interim president since October 12. He replaces <b>Mike Reed</b>, who, according to Associated Press reports, was dismissed upon conclusion of an ethics inquiry into Reed’s previous role on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Duke dismissed attorney <b>Scott Storms</b> as a result of the same inquiry.</p>
<p><b>American Transmission</b> named John Flynn v.p. of business development, a newly created position.</p>
<p><b>Allen Nye</b> joined <b>Oncor</b> as senior v.p. and general counsel. Nye is a partner at the Dallas office of Vinson &amp; Elkins.</p>
<p><b>FirstEnergy Corp</b>. promoted <b>Kevin Burgess</b> to assistant controller. He was assistant controller, FirstEnergy Utilities. <b>Jon Taylor</b>, formerly manager, financial reporting and technical accounting at FirstEnergy Utilities, was promoted to Burgess’s previous position.</p>
<p><b>Alliant Energy</b> hired <b>James H. Gallegos</b> as v.p. and general counsel. Gallegos was vice president and general counsel at Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Corp., and before that a staff attorney with Qwest. He replaces <b>Barbara J. Swan</b>, who is retiring as FirstEnergy general counsel and president of Wisconsin Power &amp; Light (WPL) subsidiary. The company named <b>John O. Larsen</b> to succeed Swan as WPL president.</p>
<p><b>Stacy Kilcoyne</b> was named v.p., human resources for <b>Southern Company</b>. Kilcoyne brings more than 30 years of experience to the position.</p>
<p><b>GeoGlobal Energy</b> named <b>Joe Cleary</b> director of construction.</p>
<p><b>David W. Hilt</b> joins <b>Quanta Technology</b> as v.p. of regulatory services. Formerly, Hilt was v.p. of compliance at the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC). He also served as v.p. of operations and engineering at NERC.</p>
<p>The <b>New York Independent System Operator </b>(NYISO) retained former FERC Commissioner <b>Suedeen Kelly</b> as a strategic energy policy advisor. Kelly is a partner with Patton Boggs.</p>
<p>The <b>Organization of MISO States </b>elected Michigan Public Service Commissioner <b>Monica Martinez </b>president of the organization.</p>
<p><b>Gridwise Alliance</b> Chairman <b>Guido Bartels</b> was re-appointed to the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Electricity Advisory Committee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Boards of Directors:</span> <b>Dr. Steven R. Specker</b> was elected to the <b>Southern Company</b> board of directors. Specker recently retired from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), where he served as president and CEO from 2004 to 2010.</p>
<p><b>Bob Dawson</b>, president and CEO of <b>SouthernLINC Wireless</b>, a Southern Company affiliate, was elected to the 2011 board of directors of <b>CTIA-The</b><b>Wireless Association</b>.</p>
<p><b>Solar Electric Power Association</b> (SEPA) elected five new members to its board of directors and re-elected one member to serve an additional term. They are: <b>Eran Mahrer</b>, director of renewable energy, Arizona Public Service; <b>Luis Reyes</b>, CEO of Kit Carson Rural Electric Cooperative; <b>Theresa Williams</b>, senior policy advisor, Western Area Power Administration; <b>Mark Dougherty </b>(re-elected), director of distributed generation and renewable programs, Long Island Power Authority.</p>
<p>The <b>American Solar Energy Society </b>(ASES) elected three new members to its board: <b>Mary Guzowski</b>, associate professor of architecture, University of Minnesota; <b>David Panich</b>, co-owner, Panich + Noel Architects; and <b>Phil Smithers</b>, technical services leader, renewable energy unit, APS.</p>
<p><b>Empire District Electric </b>announced that <b>Bill Helton</b> will retire from the board on April 28, 2011. <b>Thomas Ohlmacher </b>has been nominated to fill the board vacancy and will stand for election at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders. Ohlmacher has been president and COO of Black Hills non-regulated energy group since 2001.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>We welcome submissions to People, especially those accompanied by a high-resolution color photograph. E-mail to: <a href="mailto:people@pur.com">people@pur.com</a>.</i></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1012/images/1012-cvr.jpg" width="1121" height="1500" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/alliant">Alliant</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alliant-energy">Alliant Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-transmission">American Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/aps">APS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arizona-public-service">Arizona Public Service</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chesapeake-utilities">Chesapeake Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/commission">Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ctia">CTIA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/department-energy">Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/doe">DOE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke-energy">Duke Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research">Electric Power Research</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research-institute">Electric Power Research Institute</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/electric-power-research-institute-epri">Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/empire-district-electric">Empire District Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epa">EPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epri">EPRI</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/eran-mahrer">Eran Mahrer</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ferc">FERC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/firstenergy">FirstEnergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/indiana-utility-regulatory-commission">Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/iso">ISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/long-island-power-authority">Long Island Power Authority</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/michigan-public-service-commission">Michigan Public Service Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/miso">MISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nerc">NERC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-york-independent-system-operator">New York Independent System Operator</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/north-american-electric-reliability-corp-0">North American Electric Reliability Corp.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nyiso">NYISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oncor">Oncor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/organization-miso-states">Organization of MISO States</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/patton-boggs">Patton Boggs</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/reliability">Reliability</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sep">SEP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/sepa">SEPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar">Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar-electric-power-association">Solar Electric Power Association</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-company">Southern Company</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southernlinc-wireless">SouthernLINC Wireless</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/steven-specker">Steven Specker</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/technology">Technology</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/thomas-ohlmacher">Thomas Ohlmacher</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission">Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/williams">Williams</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wireless-association-0">Wireless Association</a> </div>
</div>
Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000puradmin13557 at http://www.fortnightly.com